Synchronicity
by jaclynkaileigh
Summary: As Winry enters college, immediately she dislikes the golden haired Professor Elric...but time can change everything, including loyalties and love. Ed x Winry RMC in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This story came into fruition while drinking a ton of margaritas and started as a joke sprung from a conversation on teachers that my friends and I thought were attractive in high school. From there it went out of control with statements like, 'Call it Phys. Ed' since Ed will be a teacher and have him substitute for the gym teacher to meet Winry.' As much as that idea was funny, it would be inappropriate considering the implications of improper conduct with a minor, so instead this story is set in college and is much less light hearted than the aforementioned counterpart. In this AU, throw out any previous history with characters, because they don't have one here! In any case, I did NOT plan on writing another fanfic for a while and especially one that will probably be a long multi-chapter however this idea will not leave me alone so...enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I have no rights to FMA!**

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Groaning in irritation, Winry reached over groggily to silence the blaring sound of her alarm. Sitting up slowly, she rubbed her sleepily hooded blue eyes while squinting into the bright light of morning. She had been up far too late the night before working on her latest design for automail, she was sure that if she could have a bit more schooling she could make her brain child succeed. If she was able to turn the sketch into reality, she would be considered a prodigy undoubtedly. Stretching back to relieve some of the tension from her overworked body, she finally got out of her large, fluffy feathered bed.

Walking into the kitchen, she went to the coffee maker to start brewing a pot of her deliciously strong morning pick-me-up. In fact it was the one thing she splurged on, being that she had no family to help support her during college, her financial situation was precarious at best. However upon walking around the area just off campus, she had been lucky enough to see a bookstore/pub with a help wanted sign in the corner of the window. Finding that little treasure of a job was like going shopping and finding that last perfectly cut little, black dress on sale in your size. Pouring herself a relatively large mug of the heavenly scented dark liquid, she sipped gingerly allowing the fumes of the rich aroma to wake her. This recently found addiction actually made her smirk, she remembered being around fourteen when her father had first offered her a cup of the steaming drink and she had all but spit the vile concoction out at the time. Interesting how in such a short period her taste could change so much. Actually, it was alarming just how much in her life had changed in the past few years.

Growing up, she had the most incredible childhood, and warm, loving parents anyone could ask for. They were strict, yet utterly supportive of her aspirations and let her follow her heart's pull for all things that involved automail and it's effect on the body. Even at a tender age of five, she could recall her love for taking apart mechanical devices around the house and putting them back together, usually. A large influence on this hobby turned obsession, was her grandmother. Granny had been a certified automail engineer since long before she was born, and quickly saw the latent talent that had become visible in her granddaughter. Every summer when school let out, Winry would go learn the trade from her well known and much sought after relative. In fact, she had become so skilled that before she was twelve, she had already begun to accumulate her own customers. With the supervision of her mentor, she crafted some of the most uniquely advanced parts ever made. Pride was evident in every line of Granny Pinako's wrinkled face. However the summer of her sixteenth birthday, tragedy befell the happy family.

Recalling the night they had received the news, Winry's eyes became watery with tears. Granny had answered the phone like any other time, but after a long minute of listening to the person on the other end, her voice had become gravelly and soft. Looking to her in concern, Winry knew something was not right by the piercing worry in her eyes. Soon after Pinako replaced the phone into the receiver, she grabbed a tissue and blotted her eyes as she turned to face her confused granddaughter. Gently, she relayed the fact that her parents had passed away. Eyes instantly prickling with tears, she was completely numb with shock to the news. There was no way that it could be her parents. She had just seen them a few hours before when they dropped her off to stay for the break. A terrible thought blindsided her. If she wouldn't have gone to her Granny's house, her parents would have been safe at home with her.

Wiping the stray tears that had leaked from her eyes, she headed to the bathroom to get around for her first day of college. Knowing that her family would be proud that she was finally continuing on in her education after taking a year off when Pinako passed shortly after she graduated high school, she smiled as she quickly showered and dried herself. Wrapped up in a large towel, Winry headed to her room to find something suitable to wear. Flipping through hangers upon hangers of t-shirts and button ups, she thought it was ridiculous that she could own so many clothes and none of them seem right. Since it was warm and her legs were clean shaven, she chose to wear a knee length, flowing, sleeveless dress. Hugging her in all the right places, the fabric alternated in different shades of blues and greens, from sea foam to light blue to sky blue with a bit of off white to break up the progression of color. Walking back to the bathroom, she let her long silvery blonde hair air dry since it was naturally straight and began applying a hint of make up. Lining her upper eyelids and brushing on some mascara, she was nearly done. Her sapphire blue eyes staring back at her, she thought about her upcoming classes with a tinge of anxiety and excitement. Sliding an almost nude lip color over her full lips, she appraised herself in the mirror and concluded that she was ready to leave.

Grabbing a couple of granola bars, her packed to the brim with books, messenger bag, and keys, she headed out the door. She was going to be early, but her mentality was that of, 'better early than late' and even though she had only made the walk a couple of times, she figured she would have time to stop and get some tea before she headed for the university. There was a great shop directly off campus and if she kept up the pace she had maintained every other time, she would have no trouble popping in quickly. As she rounded the corner, she saw a handsome, golden haired, young man in a wheelchair attempting to pick up his books and papers that had been scattered over the ground. Reaching down to help retrieve the miscellaneous sheets, he began thanking her profusely. Looking up from where she was crouched, she noticed he had the most beautiful and strange green gold eyes she had ever seen.

"Not a problem at all!" She responded flustered by his uniquely kind eyes. Smiling broadly at him she extended her hand to shake his and his warm, firm grasp accepted hers in return. "I'm Winry! What's your name?" Why did she sound so nervous?

"Hello, I'm Alphonse Elric, it's nice to meet you. Are you going to Uni here?" Uni was what everyone in the world seemed to call college here, it was odd to her, but apparently widely known.

"Yes, this is my freshman year, I was going to come last year but I had recently lost my grandmother, so I decided to take time off to settle her business and establish myself elsewhere. Do you go to college here?" Blushing, she couldn't believe that she had just told him all of that, he probably only wanted to know if she went to school there, not her life story.

"That's awful, I'm so sorry Winry. I'm a freshman too, though actually I'm a year behind as well, but for different reasons." Gesturing to the wheelchair by way of explanation, he too seemed nervous after he pointed this out. Before she had a chance to allay any worry or apologize for whatever had happened to him, he began speaking again. "I'm heading to class so I'm not late, but I hope that we will have some classes together and can talk again." His bright smile had returned, as he started to turn away from her.

"O-okay, well if you stick around between day and night classes, do you want to have late lunch or early dinner together?" Stuttering the words like an idiot, she waited for his response.

"That sounds great! I will see you here then!" Happy for the genuine excitement in his tone, she was already looking forward to talking to him more later.

"See you later, Alphonse!" Waving her goodbye, she was getting ready to enter the small cafe, when a gloved hand reached for the door handle before she could even register it, nearly knocking her out of the way. Sputtering in surprise, she saw a flash of golden hair tied in a ponytail, brush by her without so much as an, 'Excuse me' or 'Move' said on their way by. Winry was never mean spirited by nature, but had always been a fairly courteous person and found herself offended and angry by this impolite behavior. Walking in after the person, she went to tap the shoulder of the instigator, intent on giving them a piece of her mind. Noting the ponytail, she spoke before her fingers had physically touched them, to get their attention.

"Excuse me miss?" Speaking in a sharp tone for her, Winry waited for the lady to face her. However, when the 'lady' turned to meet her steady glare, she was shocked silent by the man in front of her's strikingly stunning face. For the second time that day, she was looking into the most uncommonly colored, honey golden eyes she had ever seen. Was this whole campus littered with gorgeous men? Well, he would have been gorgeous if not for his hard eyes, and flat frowning mouth. Eyebrow raising at her lack of words, Winry searched for what she had originally been ready to say, coming up depressingly empty. More than anything she felt a furious blush rise to her cheeks at having referred to this man as a woman. In an almost uncivil tone, he spoke.

"As you can clearly see I'm not a miss, so what do you want?" Instantly the heat of her former irritation doused any attraction she may have been momentarily confused with. His cocky demeanor was enough to put her off alone.

"I was just going to tell you that it is bad manners to push past people when they are in front of a door without grunting at least a warning ahead of time." There. She felt better already, crossing her arms over her chest, she stared at him, waiting for an apology. All but rolling his eyes at her, he gave her his back again, moving forward with the flow of the line. What a complete ass! Tapping him on the shoulder, she gained his attention once more, which would have been exactly what she wanted if not for again being assaulted by his piercing amber eyes. Doing her best to ignore them, she pressed her case again. "Do you not realize that it is rude to behave that way? You could have knocked me over or hit me with the door." Just then the line moved and the employee asked if the man wanted the usual, to which he just shoved money forward in response. So apparently he was always a jerk, no matter the occasion. Returning his face to hers, he gazed levelly at her and answered.

"Well, you aren't on the ground and the door didn't hit you." Picking up his drink, an arrogant grin spread over his lips as he continued speaking, "So I guess you are going to be just fine then." Without waiting for her reply he walked briskly out of the little shop, taking a good portion of her day's patience and good mood right out with him. Stepping ahead, she placed her order doing her best to be extra nice to the man behind the counter for the lack of courtesy shown by the last customer. As she took her tea, she thanked him before rushing out. Now she barely had any time to make it to her first class at less than a jog. That damned stuck up, brutish man! This was all his fault! Rushing up the massive steps, she tried visualizing the map to the school and where her class was. Heading down the packed hallway, she paid careful attention to the numbers on the doors for 503, which should be her biology class.

Thankfully, she found the large room and slipped in the door with a few minutes to spare. Quickly assessing the remaining seats, she sighed in resignation that they were nearly all at the front of the class. Winry was an excellent student, able to put up with even the most insufferable of uninteresting topics but she preferred the anonymity of the back row. She liked to prove herself through hard work and good test scores, not from being called on incessantly because she was within eyesight. Setting down her cup and bag, she began pulling her course materials onto her desk. In high school she had always done well in biology, so this would hopefully be no different. As she took her seat, she caught a bit of the conversation going on right next to her.

"I can't believe we are in HIS class, apparently he is practically a genius and gorgeous to boot." Shaking her head, she hated idle gossip, however found herself engrossed in their chatting out of boredom. Class should have started by now, but the professor was late which was her biggest pet peeve and part of the reason she didn't mind getting somewhere early.

"Yea, but I heard he has something wrong with him that isn't visible right away, like a deformation or something. I don't care how good his face is, if his body doesn't match. I just can't believe he is only 21 and so accomplished" Glancing briefly in their direction, Winry made a mental note to avoid this woman. People generally couldn't help the hand they were dealt, it was depraved to judge someone based on something out of their control. For instance, look at Alphonse. He was in a wheelchair and was still a good looking, friendly guy. She glowered at the idea that someone would find him inadequate solely from circumstances he probably couldn't help. Tuning the woman out before she heard anymore vile statements tumble from their mouths, she noticed the girl next her was already a good ways into the book for that class. Huge wire glasses framed her big, coffee colored eyes and brown, shaggy hair was trimmed to just under her chin. She was adorable, in a distinctly smart way. Catching the clock, she couldn't understand how someone would be ten minutes late their first class of the new semester. Irresponsible. They must be irresponsible. Scolding herself, she conceded that there were numerous legitimate reasons that they could have been delayed, so she should really give them the benefit of the doubt. The door opened wide as a man entered the classroom, to her utter disbelief and complete annoyance, it was THAT man.

"Hello everyone, my name is Edward Elric. I am your Biology 101 professor." Walking over to the board, he scribbled his name loudly with a piece of chalk. Wasn't that Alphonse's last name? Now that she thought about it the two did look very similar. After setting down his own bag, he finally turned to face his students. Golden eyes widening momentarily in surprise at his recognition of her sitting in the very front row of his classroom. A wide smile crossed his face, as she was sure he was ticking off all of the possible ways he could and would pay her back for her bold anger this morning. Sighing yet again, Winry wished she had sat anywhere else but in the place she had. Pulling away his measuring gaze from her expression of 'what I wouldn't do to be invisible right now' back onto his stack of syllabuses, he quickly separated them into stacks that could be passed down each of the rows.

Of course being that she was on the end of the first row, that meant she needed to take them from him. "This is a copy of the syllabus, a complete list of everything we will go over and due dates. The second paper that will be coming around will be a seating chart, I'm not asking you to move just to write your name on the chart according to where you are sitting now. Just a fair warning though I am no good with names, so don't think I'm _**rude**_ if don't get your name right." Taking care to enunciate an almost direct quote from their conversation that morning, he was letting her know subtly that he would be giving as good as he got for the next hellish semester.

As he stepped next to her to hand her the stack, her hand touched his accidentally and she noticed how oddly hard his own gloved hand was. Then it hit her, why would he be wearing gloves in the middle of summer? Flashing her eyes to his, she saw him scowl at her assessment of this and he quickly moved on to the next row. He was fitted with automail, he had to be! She could hardly suppress her excitement. Recalling her classmates former words, she found herself completely fixated on his movements from there forward. There were only a few automail shops in the country and she found herself wishing she could ask him about his. Dropping the seating chart on her desk so he wouldn't have to risk unintended touch, she speculated he thought she would be judgmental of his missing limb. Oh, why did they have to start out on such a bad foot? All she wanted was to talk to him about it. Unfortunately this was class and he didn't like her anymore than she liked him, so she may as well pay attention to what was going on. Writing her name carefully on the seating chart, she passed it and the stack to the girl with glasses next to her.

The hours passed by faster than she would have guessed. They reviewed some basic things that she had covered in high school, and she was glad to find she remembered more than she thought she would after taking a year off. Talking about biology was interesting as it had been for her before, of course it helped that she found herself fascinated about the way Professor Elric explained things. He was excited about the content, which seemed to be enough to hold the rapt attention of the class as well. Besides his enthusiasm for the material, she had found it hard to ignore his handsome features. No wonder there were almost as many women in the class as men. Watching his motions carefully, she saw that he was favoring his right leg to take the weight off of his left throughout the entire morning. She wondered if he had been properly taking care of the mail she was almost positive he had there as well, or if maybe he had grown recently and needed an adjustment. Either way, class was ending and she couldn't help her body's flight for the door when it was announced. However, a voice she already knew too well caught her off guard.

"Hey, you..." He trailed off searching for the seating chart to find her name, successfully. "Winry Rockbell." Stopping in her tracks, she just knew he was going to call her out on her behavior at the coffee shop. To her surprise, his eyes were glued to the paper in disbelief and a hint of something else, regret or sadness maybe? She wasn't sure why but she was equally shocked to find that she didn't like that look marring his golden face. Standing in the silence he had left between them she waited for whatever it was to pass. "Um, nevermind Ms. Rockbell." He seemed to breathe over her name as he said it, with that same haunted expression before turning to pack up his things. She was going to leave, but then her mouth preceded her brain and she couldn't stop the words that came out of her mouth.

"You know, you really should get that checked out Professor Elric. If you let it go much longer it will only get to be more painful." When he stared open mouthed at her for her forwardness, she got nervous and began to babble. "Also I'm sorry about this morning, I was a bit pushy and you were right, I didn't get hit by the door or anything so it wasn't a big deal." An incredulous look crossed his face at everything she had just said and after pausing for a moment, he finally responded.

"I see, so you are sorry now that you know I have a disability? Though I am impressed at your picking up on it so quickly, I do not need or want your sympathy Ms.-" Eyes flashing bright in anger and embarrassment that he had taken her kindness so wrong, Winry cut him off.

"I'm not offering you either, I was only trying to tell you that I was sorry we got off on a bad foot, and that speaking of, you should get your mail examined you -" Stopping herself abruptly before she gave him a piece of her mind after just apologizing for the first instance, she picked up her bag from where it was slumped on the floor and continued again. "It's none of my business how you do or do not take care of yourself, you are not my patient, so it's not my problem. Excuse me for being too intrusive, Professor." Without another glimpse in his direction to see whatever smug or offended look she had left him with, she huffed angrily out of the door. Maybe she could just transfer to another teacher, at a different time. Granted, she would have to change the rest of her schedule also, but it would be well worth it, she just didn't think that spending three hours, three days a week with this man was going to work. Especially after admitting to herself that she really had over stepped the invisible line that separated teacher from student, and honestly, she didn't want to have to meet his molten eyes again.

Brushing off the whole situation, she figured she should leave to meet with Alphonse for late lunch, and then go back to the office and see about switching her schedule around. That was a good plan of action, and as her stomach growled in agreement she headed off in the direction of the coffee shop.

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**AN: Alright guys, what do you think so far? What did you like and what did you hate? Think she went too far? Let me know what you guys think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I should probably mention now, that this will generally be a slow moving fanfic in the beginning. Hope you guys can bear with me while I set things up : ) Huge thanks to, Le Confidant, ZilSepam, ****ImperialAffliction****, ****TheMistOfThePast****, ****Mikigotagun****, Gabbie, and Kaylee for taking the time to review! Anyone who is curious if I'm going to update my other fanfic Passing Through, no worries as soon as I get home from work I intend to write until the update is complete!**

**Disclaimer: No rights to FMA.**

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Briskly heading back to the coffee shop, Winry was excited to have someone to talk to between classes. Not really having many friends back home, she had always had a hard time relating to people her age and found the gap between herself and others ever expanding. Seeing all of the different groups and couples that were scattered over the large area that surrounded the University of Amestris, made her wistfully hope that she could make some friends in this environment where so many were preparing themselves for the future as well. Without Granny, who had been her best friend as well as her legal guardian, she felt lost and alone.

Approaching the smiling face that she had been looking for, she could feel her own bright smile reflecting his. She hoped that she hadn't kept him waiting for long, and said as much upon seeing that he had been deeply engrossed in a thick book.

"No I haven't been here long at all! I am just really enjoying this book, I can't seem to put it down and I catch myself picking it back up in every free second." Sitting on the bench next to where he was, she moved to see the title, unsuccessfully.

"I understand completely. I love to read, I actually just got a job nearby at this bookstore with a bar, or bar with a bookstore however you look at it." Laughing happily, she briefly remembered that she would be starting tomorrow after her class ended.

"Oh! You mean The Dark Horse?" Nodding enthusiastically in response, he continued after seeing her confirm his speculation. "That place is great, their book selection is surprisingly eclectic and they never ask for ID. I have gone there to read and do karaoke before. It's a strange combination, but also uniquely comforting, although that could be the beer kicking in when you research." They laughed together this time and she enjoyed the rich sound of his voice. He mentioned doing karaoke there, and she could imagine what he must be like when he sang.

"I'll have to remember to ID you now if I work on the bar side." Raising her eyebrows at him in false scrutiny, she giggled when he made an offended little scoffing sound. "Nah, I'd probably let you slide, but only if you do karaoke one night when I work!"

"Deal, but you can't laugh me off the stage once you realize how terrible I am." Extending his hand to her to set the arrangement in stone, she took his hand as she answered.

"Deal. No worries, I have never even tried karaoke before, or drinking but I have a feeling they go hand in hand." Letting go of his hand, she blushed slightly at him. "Want to grab some food? I have evening class in a bit and I'm starving."

"Yes, I haven't eaten all day and I have class too." Standing she walked a couple feet and opened the door for both of them to enter. Chatting a bit while waiting to order, Alphonse suggested things that were good there. Deciding on the same thing, she told the lovely, red haired woman what she would like, to which Alphonse amended by adding his own meal and began to pay. Even though she refused profusely, he said it was his treat since she was new to the area. Grudgingly she accepted with thanks, after she wrung a promise from him that she could take him out or make him dinner once she got some hours in at work. The friendly employee said she would bring it out to them in a bit. Picking a seat next to the window, they continued where they had left off.

"So you don't have any siblings at all?" His beautiful green flecked, amber eyes distracting her for a moment before she responded.

"Nope, it's just me. But it's not so bad, I'm used to being alone now. Though it is nice to have someone to talk to." Beaming at him, she had to ask him what she had been wondering ever since this morning. "So what about you? I have a Prof whose last name is the same as yours, any relation?" Trying not to seem obvious at her acute interest in the subject, she stated her question almost blandly. Pausing to chew the bread that had been on the table politely before speaking, he took a sip of his water and answered.

"That would be my brother, Edward. He is practically a genius and of course he is handsome, and single..." Looking to her for a reaction that apparently he was quite used to, she stopped him right there.

"Oh, no! I am most certainly NOT interested in him." Hearing the timbre to her voice raise, he burst out laughing, and she just frowned back at him, not seeing the humor in her answer.

"I'm sorry Winry, I've just never heard anyone actually not be interested in my brother, or in your case flat out dismiss him. Besides you seem so accepting and kind, he must've really done something to make you unhappy. Leave it to Ed to make the nicest girl on campus mad."

Wiping tears of amusement from his now practically olive eyes, he calmed himself as he waited for her to tell him what had happened. For a minute, she had the prickling sensation that they were the intense study of a heated gaze. Checking around the little cafe she didn't appear to be the center of anyone's attention. Shrugging off her paranoia, she returned her focus to the question.

"It was nothing, honestly. I just overreacted to his personality. Some people, like you, are very considerate and polite and others are..." Searching her mind for any adjective that didn't sound mean, she realized it had been almost thirty seconds since she trailed off. "Well he, uh...he's stubborn." Hearing Al crack up in mirth again, she couldn't help the tiny grin that crossed her face now. "In either case, he probably isn't too happy with me, because I told him he needed to get his leg checked out." Suddenly Alphonse was completely silent and tension was heavy between them. Oh shit, maybe she hadn't realized just how big of a deal it was bringing it up to Professor Elric. In an attempt to backtrack she babbled, "I wasn't trying to pry or make him uncomfortable, it's just that I make, well made automail back home for a living with my Granny, and I noticed that he was leaning most of his weight on his other leg and that can really mess with overall balance and...I would never say anything to anyone, I just thought he should know to get it looked at." Discerning that she should probably stop talking now, she snapped her mouth shut with an almost audible snap. For a quiet moment, Al regarded her pensively. The woman from the counter walked over then and deposited their meals in front of them. They both thanked her at the same time as she began to leave them. Glancing back to each other, he finally broke the hush.

"It's not a big deal that you know, I'm just surprised that you caught it. Even people that have known Edward for years, don't have a clue. I mean, people have suspected there was something what with him consistently wearing gloves, but even if they notice that, they have no idea about his leg." His tone was tight and came out as an unwilling squeak. She sat, not eating as she attempted to quell her rising panic and tears that threatened to make their appearance. She could tell that even though he was playing it off, he was upset about her bold advisement to his brother. Swallowing thickly, she felt she was worse than those girls earlier by prying into something she had no place inquiring about. Feeling more like dropping the class every minute, she spoke voice heavy with emotion.

"Alphonse, I promise I won't say anything about it again. I shouldn't have to begin with, I am overly interested in all of the advancements in them because I'm developing a new type of mail, but I still had no right to bring it up to him. I'm sorry." Lowering her watery blue eyes, she succeeded in keeping them from spilling over.

"Hey." Lifting her chin to face him, she saw that the clouded look in his eyes was gone. When he did speak, he spoke softly. "Hey, it's okay, honestly. You weren't trying to be intrusive or mean spirited, that doesn't seem to be who you are. I think it's great that you have a passion for automail, I just don't think Brother or I, have met anyone who is very comfortable with or used to seeing it. He hasn't been to his mechanic in a long time, but I will make sure he goes soon. Please don't feel bad or sad anymore, I'm not angry with you and I highly doubt that he is either. He is so separated from others his age in his line of work, that he probably dismissed the conversation as soon as it ended." Smiling weakly at first, she attempted to pull herself out of the guilt she had buried herself in, but upon seeing his answering smile she found herself relaxing again. As he began to slurp his soup, she realized that she had lost her appetite, but made an effort for his sake. After a few minutes of light conversation over majors and upcoming events at school, he asked her something she hadn't been expecting. "So do you have a boyfriend back home?"

Choking on her spoonful of tomato soup, she coughed loudly to expel the warm liquid from her lungs. Smirking at her, he patiently waited for the now painfully obvious answer. "No, no boyfriends for me. Guys where I'm from never really liked me because I was the grease monkey that had her head in mechanics, not going out to parties." So, maybe she had said that a tinge bitterly, but it wasn't a subject she liked to talk about. The one boy she had ever cared for had used her to become closer to her best friend, yet another reason she didn't have many personal connections. "What about you, do you have a girlfriend? Or maybe a couple?" Flaxen eyebrows raised incredulously at her, as if saying, 'Are you kidding me?'

"I did have one girlfriend once, but it didn't work out." Leaving it at that, she thought about how differently from expected their dinner was turning out. They had both upset each other at one point or another, and she wondered if he would decide he didn't want to talk to her again after this. No wonder she couldn't keep people around, she was far too upfront, except about herself. "But this is college so who knows what will happen, I could meet the girl of my dreams today." Or maybe he was just a flirt. Grinning back at him, she responded truthfully.

"Well you are certainly handsome enough, I'm sure you will meet somebody." Blushing at her admission of his beguiling looks, she considered how similar his brother and him looked. In fact, if the Professor allowed a smile onto his face it would be even more noticeable. Mentally shaking all thoughts of the man from her head, she focused on the conversation as she finished her meal.

"You aren't so bad yourself Winry, who knows maybe we will both meet people who deserve us." Probably not, she amended silently in regards to her own future, but mainly because she wouldn't have the time between research, coursework and her job. That was okay though, she had survived harder things than being alone and her personal work was her main concern.

"Yea, maybe, though I will probably be too buried in work even if it did happen to me. Although if I lose my job at The Dark Horse for serving minors, that could free up time significantly." Winking at him, he began chuckling again which lifted the weight off of her previous anxiety at their time together. Realizing how late it had gotten, she needed to head to her class. She probably wouldn't have time to check out switching her schedule. "I probably have to get going for my night session actually."

"Me too, if you are early again tomorrow we should get coffee in the morning." Happily she agreed and as she rose to leave she caught a glimpse of gold from the window they had been sitting by, making her think of her encounter that morning with the moody brother. Brushing off the image of his melancholic face earlier, she waved to Alphonse animatedly, as they went their separate ways for class.

The rest of her evening passed by uneventfully as she followed along in her Algebra studies that were taught by a stern, but easy to understand, Professor Izumi Curtis. Liking her outspoken personality and work hard mentality, she had a feeling they were going to get along just fine. At least there was one teacher who didn't dislike her. Frowning as her thoughts once again went to the lightly caramel eyed Professor, she became nervous about Wednesday's session. Maybe she didn't need to be since she would more than likely have time to stop by the office between classes tomorrow and see about making the switch. Reminding herself to check her schedule tomorrow to see if she had him for any other courses, she pushed all concerns of the man to the side in favor of her expensive education that was going on around her. Immersing herself in the lesson, she discovered that she hadn't been as rusty as she had previously worried. For a first day, she was fairly content with the outcome.

After arriving at home, she studied what small bit of homework she had been assigned. When she was done, she took a quick shower and made a mental list of all the things she needed to do tomorrow. Brushing her teeth, she was excited for a new set of classes bringing her one step closer to where she wanted to be and starting a job to support herself. Laying down in her comfortable bed, Winry thought about the Elric brothers and how vastly different from each other they seemed. Alphonse was such a happy and outgoing person, while Edward, Professor Elric - she corrected herself internally for using such familiarity, was so antagonistic and guarded. Well, mostly guarded, the expression on his face today had been bothering her much more than it should have. Though if she were honest, she would like to see him wear a smile closer to his brother's shining delight. Then again maybe it was better that he wore scowls, to look like he did and have a great personality would be too much. Laughing at herself, she knew she was being ridiculous and now losing sleep over nothing. As Al had said, he had probably forgotten she even existed as soon as she walked out of the room.

* * *

Leaving the all too stuffy classroom, Ed couldn't wait to feed his growling stomach. Normally he could wait until he got home if he had to for a decent meal, but THAT girl must have used up all of his excess energy that typically got used on holding his voracious appetite at bay. Walking towards the little coffee shop, he hoped to catch Al between classes and see how his first day at Uni was going. Hopefully better than his so far. Of course someone had noticed his automail, just why did it have to be her? Even worse she had to seem so concerned with her brilliant, ocean eyes staring at him. He didn't need her noticing his flaws or worse, pitying him. Having his fair share of that, he was tired of people's eyes going soft with the useless emotion and he had called her on it only to be cut down by her seemingly truthful dismissal. 'It's none of my business how you do or do not take care of yourself, you are not my patient, so it's not my problem.' Her statement had got him wondering what it was she did, did she work on automail? Looking at the girl, it didn't seem likely. Lovely, flowing dress, tightly fitted at her slender center, she did not look like any mechanic he'd ever seen. Appearances could be deceiving, though still he doubted it. Perhaps she was going to be a doctor, Biology would be a logical class for someone pursuing that line of work. Shaking his head in irritation, he had been thinking about the young blonde too long already for his liking.

Rounding the corner by the small shop, he stopped sharply in his tracks as he caught sight of his brother inside, with her, the very object of his relentless thoughts. Why the hell were they sitting together like they were friends? In an attempt to watch them longer without looking like a stalker, he pulled the book from his pocket and pretended to read while he observed them. For a while they seemed to be making small talk, and he had nearly left since he couldn't hear their conversation anyways, until he heard his brother's louder than normal laughter. Giving up all pretense of reading, he stared uninhibited as he wished he knew what had made Al laugh like that.

Focusing his gaze on her, he watched as she glowered while blushing, which was a strangely attractive combination while worn by her. Running his hand through his long ponytail, he was getting tired of his brain supplying commentary about her. A second later, she began glancing around the cafe as if sensing his gaze from inside. Thankfully, she ignored it and had continued talking even drawing another round of loud chuckling from his little brother.

Instantly their mood changed from amusement to tension. Fuck, if he could only hear what they were saying instead trying to read their facial reactions! As she lowered head head and her eyes began to look like a stormy sea, he saw Al reach across the table and tip her face up to look at him and then a small smile cross her face. Watching this simple gesture said a lot to him, Al hadn't been overly close with many women since his first and last girlfriend dumped him. Yet, here he was touching her pale skin as if he'd known her for some time and well. A frown tugged at his lips as he thought about that, then deepened from the thought of thinking of it. Why should he care what either of them did? And why the HELL was he standing outside this coffee house like an idiot spying on them!? If he was so interested, he should just walk in, buy a damn drink and speak with his brother. After debating that resolution a bit, he decided to stay where he was.

When he had started paying attention again, he realized that Winry was preparing to leave. He briefly considered sticking around to talk with Al after she left, but checking his pocket watch saw that his next class started soon and if he had any chance of eating in the less palatable cafeteria he needed to leave now. Stealing one last look at the pair, he saw she was standing and abruptly turned heel and left.

* * *

Returning home from his long day, he saw Al at the kitchen table working diligently. Grunting a hello, he headed straight for the fridge to grab some leftovers. After heating them up he sat down with Al.

"So how was your first day in college?" Smiling up at him, his younger brother beamed with excitement.

"Class was great, I really liked my Profs so far. But honestly I don't know how you do it all day in front of everyone." Pushing his plate towards him in offering, Al declined seeing how clearly starved Ed was.

"Did you make any new friends?" Trying not to sound obvious, Ed kept his face neutral while waiting for the answer.

"Yea a couple actually, everyone seems really nice." The vague response left him irritated that he would have to pry for a detailed answer.

"Meet any cute girls?" Poor choice in words, Al would probably wonder why he was curious. A small flush of color rose to his brother's cheeks, barely noticeable but still present.

"You know me Ed, I met dozens. Why are you finally expanding your pursuits to more than working?" Feigning an innocent mien, Al waited for his answer.

"No, I don't have an interest to date or the time, you know that. I was just asking." Frustrated that

Al was being so obtuse purposely, Ed began to acknowledge that he would probably have to directly ask him about Winry.

"Well it's too bad brother, I bet there are a lot of girls who would like to date you. However, to answer your question, I met a very nice girl named Winry. She's in one of your classes actually." Offering no more, Alphonse returned to his work. He probably wanted Ed to say something about his student one way or the other.

"Oh, the blonde one? Bright blue eyes and wearing a dress?"

"Yup, that's her, I'm surprised you remember her, not noticing women and all." Well when you spy on someone for around an hour, you retain these types of meaningless details, he thought bitterly. By Al's face, he knew he'd been had. "She told me that she told you to get your leg checked out." Cringing, he waited for the lecture that was sure to follow. "You know if you are experiencing pain that you need to go see your mechanic Ed, the port that holds your automail could pull away from your skin! For being so smart, I don't know why you wouldn't take care of something like that." Glaring down at him, Al was not happy.

"Al, it's not a big-" Abruptly his words were cut off. All he'd wanted to do was find out how his brother knew the girl, not fight about his fucking automail!

"It is a big deal, do you really want to have to go through the insertion surgery again?" Shuddering internally with the memory of the physical suffering, Ed most certainly did not want to go through that again. Everything had to be anchored to the bone inside his stump, there was no words brutal enough to describe the sensation and that was while taking a none to mild dose of pain relievers.

"You're right Al, I'm sorry. I'll call and set up an appointment for next week, okay?" If there was one thing he couldn't take, it was his younger sibling worrying over him, he had enough to concentrate on without adding his shit to the list. Nodding stiffly, and still obviously upset, he was surprised to hear Al speak again.

"Do you dislike her?" Not following where that had come from, he asked for clarification.

"Who?" Feeling dumb, he realized his brother had jumped back in their conversation, he knew who he meant before the name was spoken.

"Winry." Letting the name hang in the air between them, he thought that was a good question, to which he himself did not have the answer to.

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**AN: Alright guys, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, so let me know what you like and didn't like or would like to see!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I'm exhausted and I'm going to kick my own ass for staying up so late tomorrow morning at 4:45AM but I hope you guys all like this chapter! Thank you so much to; Le Confidant, ****evilpika****, ****KMN24****, ****ZilSepam****, ****AnimeControl****, ****TheMistOfThePast****, ****Mikigotagun****and ****FairyTail x FMA****for all of your reviews! You guys are so awesome!**

**Disclaimer: No rights to FMA.**

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When Winry woke the next morning, she hurriedly went through the motions of her normal routine so that she could leave early enough to meet Alphonse for coffee. Remembering to pack clothes for work along with her books for class, she quickly grabbed her schedule from the counter shoving it into the zippered compartment in her large bag. Locking the door behind her, she was ready for her second day. As she approached the shop, she saw the girl with glasses from her Biology 101 sitting outside, reading yet again. Walking up to the bench, she called out to her.

"Hey!" Looking up at her in surprise, the girl squinted at her, seeing if that would make Winry familiar to her. "Didn't mean to interrupt, I saw you here and recognized you from class yesterday so I thought I would say hello." Smiling widely at her, she noticed the girl seemed really happy to have been remembered.

"Oh, hi! I'm Sheska, it's nice to meet you!" Winry liked her happy go lucky demeanor and extended her hand in greeting.

"Winry Rockbell, nice to meet you too! Do you come here often?" Returning her handshake, Sheska answered her.

"A couple days a week actually, it's close to where I live and to Uni. I was going to get coffee, I just got distracted with this book and forgot to go in." Sounded like someone else she knew, the thought made her think of her new friend who should be coming. Watching as Sheska shut her large book and then turn to give her full attention, Winry caught sight of Alphonse approaching them. As he got closer she called to him. "Hey Alphonse! I just ran into Sheska, we had class together yesterday. Sheska, this is Alphonse. Alphonse, this is Sheska." The girl next to her seemed as caught off guard by his stunningly handsome face and unique features as she had been. Looking at the book Sheska was holding, Alphonse blushed and commented.

"That's a great book, I'm actually reading the same one right now." Flashing Sheska his copy, their eyes met and held as they both awkwardly let the coincidence sink in. Finding her voice, Sheska spoke nervously.

"I have read it a couple of times, I just can't seem to put it down." Winry stood there as the conversation continued around her about a book she now wanted to check out for herself, but probably wouldn't given her lack of time that would only become smaller once classes were really under way. Apparently she had spaced out because they were looking to her as if waiting for an answer on the topic.

"I'm sorry! I was thinking about something, what'd you say?" Embarrassed that she hadn't been listening at all, she focused on solely on them.

"I was telling Sheska that you got a job at The Dark Horse, but I didn't remember when you said you were supposed to start." Al's voice held an undertone of laughter regarding her former lack of attention.

"Oh! I start tonight actually. I am pretty nervous, I hope I won't screw up too badly. I am mostly used to working with automail. I may try and find part time apprentice work here as well for the days when I'm not at The Dark Horse." Just thinking about diving into a new piece set her fingers to curling absently, as if she could just picture holding her wrench.

"You work on automail?" Sheska seemed utterly astonished by this, really she should be used to the reaction by now.

"I do, it's my dream to be a Master Engineer. I'm actually in the process of a theory that if proven correct, would probably be enough to earn my certification based on merit alone, but it's very slow moving. I needed more Biology and Anatomy knowledge, though I have a decent background in it due to my Granny." Beginning to walk inside for coffee since she hadn't had a cup before leaving this morning, their expressions of awe caught her by surprise.

"So have you done a insertion surgery before?" Al's voice asked the next question. Standing in line, they waited to be helped.

"Twice now, it's a very intense process with many nuances that must be done precisely to reduce the risk of rejection. I have mainly built and maintained mail and I have almost everything necessary to the trade from when my Granny passed away." Moving forward, their conversation was cut off as they each ordered. Turning the talk in another direction, she asked Sheska about what her major was. Finding out that she was actually going to Uni to be a teacher, she thought about how well that would suit the brunette. She came off as a patient and intelligent person. After a moment the employee, a young guy this time, gave them their drinks while thanking them and wishing them a nice day.

Al went on to tell them what she already knew was his major, Organic Chemistry. His golden eyes lit up just talking about the topic, it was actually very similar to how the other Elric brother sounded while teaching. The way they spoke about the subject, you couldn't help but become enraptured as well. She had never seen anyone, let alone two people, so excited about how certain elements affected others and the possibilities therein. There HE was again popping up in her mind, she hadn't even made it a full two hours. Sighing inaudibly, she tried not to let think Al or Sheska they were the cause of her frustration. Wiping her face of any trace of irritation, she suggested that they all go outside and head to Uni together.

While discussing their upcoming classes, she dug in her pack to see what and who her day held. Her first subject was the ever dreaded English, which she was delighted to note that Alphonse had with her. Looking down at her schedule again, she found her night course as a pit of unease churned inside her. Chemistry 101, Professor Edward Elric. Was there any damn subject he didn't teach here? How the hell was she supposed to endure five days a week of his strange behavior and obvious dislike? Even if she could get moved from one of the classes, it was doubtful that she would be able to get out of both of them. Feeling the hope she had hung onto the previous night dwindling quickly, she noticed that once again Sheska and Al were looking at her to figure out what she was tensing for. Running her fingers through her silvery strands to calm herself, Sheska questioned her innocently.

"So what's your evening class Winry?" Chocolate brown eyes gazed at her with curiosity, as she just handed the paper to her. "Chemistry 101, Professor Edward Elric. Oh that's our Biology Prof also isn't it?" Mentally throwing her fists skyward in anger, Winry's eyes flickered to Al's to catch his reaction. Wearing an expression of indifference, he stared back at her. Nearing the point of separation for their days, she edged away.

"Yea, it is." Trying not to let the tone of everything she was thinking sour their nice morning, she pasted a bright grin on her face as she told Sheska that she would catch up with her tomorrow during class or later if she popped into The Dark Horse. Alphonse too told Sheska goodbye, saying he hoped to see her again later. As they headed in direction of Algebra, Al stopped her.

"Hey, don't worry Winry. Brother doesn't hate you, so don't stress about your studies. Even if he really didn't like you, which I know isn't true, he would be fair." Now she was curious as to what undeniable proof Al had in his pocket to discount the former evidence she had collected.

"How do you know?" Eagerness at the answer laced in her voice.

"We talked about it last night and I asked him." Holy shit, they had spoken about her at home? She put her face in her palm with a loud smack.

"WHAT!?" Trying and failing to keep her response to a yelp, Winry couldn't believe that Alphonse had directly asked Professor Elric about her. She was absolutely mortified. Now he knew how irritated and self conscious she was about their exchange.

"Yea, it's no big deal." Snorting indelicately, she waited for more explanation. "I told him you were my friend and we talked a little bit. Seriously, don't stress about it. Also, just so you know, he promised me that he would get his leg checked out." How could she possibly not be freaking out? They had clearly talked about her mentioning his automail, she could actually visualize his frown in her mind. "Honestly, he's not so bad once you get to know him. He's stubborn, but he knows how important the upkeep to his mail is if he doesn't want to go through another attachment from miscare. Class is going to start, we should go in." Nodding in agreement, she put aside her internal panic for the moment, as they entered.

* * *

Leaving Algebra, Al told her that he would try and stop out at her work that night if he got his coursework done. Smiling at the thought of seeing his happy face later, she told him she was going to grab some food in the cafeteria before her next class and try and start on the homework they had been assigned so she wouldn't have to try and finish it after work. Parting ways, she hurried down to where the map showed the area to be. Finding it with little trouble, she was happy with her small success. The room was relatively empty, only a few students were there and those who were, were completely engrossed in their own business. Very similar to how her high school had been laid out, there was a long stretch where you picked up your food and then a tall island in the middle with drinks.

Making her selections from the fairly decent looking selection, she dug into her wallet to pay for her salad and cookies. Not a great combination she realized, but still they sounded good and were reasonably priced. Reaching the cash register she also paid for a coffee that she would need to grab from the separated section. Taking her tray in her hands, she glanced briefly up to see that coffee must be on the right side of the massive station, then returned her gaze to her food as she took the small turn.

Colliding into a sturdy body, she heard the sound of her plastic tray making contact with something glass or ceramic, before both her and the other person hit the ground. Immediately apologizing profusely, while placing her amazingly still intact meal on the ledge, sapphire eyes met honey and widened. OH SHIT! Noticing the huge, blackened stain covering Professor Elric's formerly pristine, red shirt and khaki colored pants, she cursed herself for her inattention. Without thinking she grabbed some napkins, lowered herself to her knees and began attempting to soak up the dark liquid, unnoticing of just where her hands were pressing. After a moment of awkwardly trying to dry him, she chanced a look at him, noticing that his tanned skin was a deep scarlet and he was wearing an expression of shock. As his gloved hands gently removed hers from what was very nearly his crotch, the realization dawned on her. Sputtering, she backed away almost like a crab, turning a brilliant shade of tomato red herself. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him again, he was probably furious and more than likely doubly so considering where she had just been so blatantly touching him.

Wanting nothing more than for the ground to swallow her whole, she didn't react right away when a hand was shoved into her face to help her to her feet. Taking the assistance hesitantly, she stood finding herself counting the lines in the flooring. Finally she found her voice, "Thank you..." Meeting his intensely molten eyes, she continued as she tried to gauge his mood from them. "I'm so sorry, I honestly wasn't trying to feel you up." Clamping a hand over her mouth at her words, she was shocked to hear a booming laugh fill the air. Looking at him dumbfounded, then around the room to see who might be watching their calamitous encounter, she felt her lips twitch upwards as the humor of the incident also made it's way into her mind. Strangely, she found herself laughing with him. The sound of his amusement only incited her own, it was rich and warm instantly putting her at ease. Finally they calmed, and he spoke.

"Well Ms. Rockbell, I don't know if I have ever had anyone come onto me quite like that before." Smirking lazily, he stared at her almost cockily. Feeling her indignation rise, she tried to quell it by telling herself that he was kidding.

"HA! Or anyone in general?" She couldn't resist the snide comment, tossing him an equally proud grin.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Giving a half wave, he turned away, flipping his golden ponytail vaingloriously and left her standing alone with only herself to mutter to. That man had to be the most self centered, pigheaded idiot she had ever met! More irritatingly than that, she hated to admit her curiosity to that question. It wasn't as if she liked him, but she did wonder what kind of girl he would deign to consider worthy of his precious time. Sighing in frustration, she grabbed said vexing coffee that had started the whole nightmare to begin with and sat down to begin her work.

* * *

Finishing up all of her assignments with time to spare, she glared forward at her cup wondering just how in the hell she was going to make it through class with him tonight and then work. Collecting her stuff, she headed for the opposite side of campus almost, for Chemistry. Maybe if she was lucky, Professor Elric would have gone home to change and then just called off. The chances were low but she needed some hope to hang onto. As she found the door, she was happy to notice that she was the first into the room, so she hastily walked to the back and set her bag and drink down. Perhaps there was some justice in the world after all. Just then an all too recognizable voice spoke, startling her.

"Wanting to play it safe by sitting in the back of the room?" And perhaps, justice was a sneaky bitch. Turning to face him, she saw that he had changed clothes. Now he was wearing a grey colored shirt, and black pants. No, they weren't just black, they were what seemed like a soft leather also. Feeling a slight blush cross her face, she realized that she had been staring at his pants, which in turn probably looked like she was staring at him inappropriately. Lifting her eyes quickly to his, she felt provoked by his toothy grin. "See something you like? Or were you just wondering how you could get your drink to soak into these? I thought wearing leather would be a good idea in your presence." Where were all the other students? Couldn't anyone walk in and save her from his arrogance? Picking up her belongings, and burning a hole into his smug face with her scathing gaze, she moved to the front just to show him that he didn't bother her in the slightest.

"No on both counts, I am just surprised you managed to grace the class with your timely appearance tonight. I mean considering how much I'm paying for my education, I should have some semblance of an instructor present." He moved to stand in front of her seat, and leaned forward close enough that she was able to breathe in his oddly calming scent. Smelling like aftershave and oil, she wondered if he had just lubricated his automail recently. Shaking her head of the mechanical imagery that littered her brain at the strange connection she'd made, she flicked her eyes up to his amber orbs.

"Ms. Rockbell, you are certainly an..." Suddenly his voice was drowned out by the group of people who were entering the room, and he had backed away instantly to write his name on this board as well. When he turned to face her, he looked flustered as the remnants of what she was guessing had been a flush that covered the bridge of his nose and cheeks disappeared before her. Grudgingly, she admitted that he was rather attractive when embarrassed. What had he been beginning to say to her? He hadn't seemed mad, if anything he had been amused and something else she couldn't place.

Gradually the room filled, including the seat next to her by a man that couldn't be described much more spot on than manly. Having white hair and red eyes were mild in comparison to the large scar on his face that didn't really detract from his features at all, maybe even enhanced the strange coloring. Wearing a football jersey and being joined by two other guys in matching jerseys, he settled into his spot. They all ribbed with each other for a few minutes before he looked in her direction. Once he did though, he stopped listening to his friends and introduced himself as Michael and she reciprocated feeling a bit intimidated by the obvious jock. Of course his friends cut in then, to tell her that everyone called him Scar because of the injury he'd received last year during the end of the season. Even if that was what everyone else called him, she would stick to Michael since he'd introduced himself that way.

Clearing his throat loudly, Professor Elric called them to attention striking her as unusually stern in that moment. Really she didn't have much to go on, but from what little she did including Al's biased opinion of him, she would consider him kind of humorously full of himself. Recalling his earlier outburst of laughter, she smiled slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by either the man next to or in front of her. She had probably come off as happy about her short lived conversation with Michael. Averting his scrutiny elsewhere, the Elric began his lesson.

* * *

When class ended, she prepared to leave and head to work but Michael interrupted her thoughts by asking if she was going to come to the first game on Friday. Wanting to snort in response to the asinine question, she knew that was not the polite way to behave. Seeing Professor Elric watching from his peripheral, she told Michael casually that she didn't know since she wasn't sure if she would be working or not. After the crimson eyed man told her he hoped she could make it, she said she would let him know Thursday following the lecture. Ignoring her completely then, her teacher rushed out of the room, leaving her wondering what she had done. Brushing off the melancholic temperament that began to settle within her, she left for The Dark Horse.

* * *

About an hour into her first shift, she realized how much she loved the atmosphere in the dimly lit bar side of the dual business. The taste was varied and kitschy, with great knick knacks and old books everywhere. Wishing she was able to sit and enjoy a drink herself while there instead of bussing tables and running drinks, Winry was glad that at least her shifts would mostly be in four hour increments allowing her to be in bed no later than she normally stayed up. For having no background in service at all, she felt like she had picked up rather quickly. The prices were clearly printed everywhere from the menus, to the chalkboard on the wall so there was no hardship in not knowing them all by heart. The man she was working with, Jean, was a chainsmoker and a flirt, and she couldn't help but find she instantly warmed to him.

When the second hour rolled around, a couple of familiar faces entered and she found herself bouncing over to their table. Alphonse was correct in the fact that no one bothered to ID him, and she wasn't going to say anything one way or the other since she was so excited to see him and Sheska. Telling them she would be right back, she ran the drinks that had appeared in the drink pick up area while Jean took their order, taking all responsibility of serving a minor out of her hands. Though from the small talk Al and her had made previously, she knew he would be 19 soon, making him legal. Their birthdays were actually not far apart, though he was a year younger than her. Walking back to Al and Sheska's table, she had just begun to talk when Al's eyes lit up and he called out.

"Brother! Over here!" Oh, no. He was not here. No way. She glanced down at her low cut blouse and frowned. Sensing him walk by her, she turned on a smile for Al's sake and sweetly asked him what he would like. Telling her he wanted a whiskey and soda, Winry replied.

"Whiskey and soda, anything else Professor Elric?" Lifting a golden eyebrow at her, he answered.

"No thank you, but please, we aren't at school so Edward is fine." Feeling dumb for not gathering that he probably wouldn't want to be called that in a bar with his brother, she sheepishly corrected herself.

"Okay, Edward..." The name felt unfamiliar on her tongue as she said it. Briskly heading to fill his order, her mind raced. Was he or wasn't he upset with her? She couldn't keep up with his mood swings. Maybe he hadn't known that Al was coming here with Sheska to see her, yea that was probably it. He wouldn't willingly come within a mile of her. Repeating his order to Jean, she waited until he handed it off to her and then headed back towards the table. Setting it down in front of him with a napkin as a coaster, Sheska smiled up to her and started talking. Luckily, she only had one other table she was watching and they were freshly set up for a bit.

"Winry! I forgot to ask you earlier, are you any relation to Pinako Rockbell?" The side conversation that the brothers had been having ceased once the petite brunette had spoken.

"Yes actually she was my grandmother, but she passed away after I graduated high school. How do you know her?" Curious as to the connection, Winry was excited at the possibility of having someone to talk to about her wonderful Granny.

"Well, Rockbell Automail is pretty well known and I've read about it once in a mechanics magazine I saw once. I have a photographic memory but didn't make the connection until later on today." Pride at her grandmother's work being so well known tugged her her lips into a huge smile, but was nearly cut off once she saw the look of confusion on Alphonse's face.

"She was the best, though I had no idea she'd ever been written about before. I would love to get a copy of the article." Alphonse was now looking at Edward with the most peculiar expression. Sheska went on to suggest that she check the library archives. After another minute she went to check on her other table and to see if Jean needed anything. Returning to their booth, she felt the physical tension that cooled their previously good mood. Uncertain as to what had happened yet again, she tried to get a laugh out of Al over her small mishaps at The Dark Horse thus far. Earlier she had taken the wrong drink to the wrong table and watched as an elderly woman spit a vodka tonic everywhere. While he had chuckled some, he also came off as a bit nervous. Not long after that, both of the brothers said they needed to get home and prepared to leave, paying their tab then wishing her goodnight.

Even more oddly, Professor Elric had been just as friendly as Alphonse normally was when they exited, telling both Sheska and her that he would see them in class tomorrow without a hint of his typical swagger or grumpiness. Once they had left, Winry asked Sheska if she had gotten the same feeling from them, but she said she couldn't tell either way. Maybe she was just imagining things, or possibly Alphonse was tired from Uni. Before Sheska left they decided to have lunch the following day. As she finished her side work, Winry kept trying to sort through the day as a whole. Those brothers left her emotionally drained with the spectrum of things running through her mind. Deciding not to worry about it anymore and to just see how tomorrow went she told Jean goodnight, hoping that the following day would make more sense than this one had.

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**AN: The drinking age there btw is 19, it's like that a lot of places and I decided to go with that. Hope you guys liked this chapter, opinions are all welcome if you would like to see something in particular. More than likely I will write the next chapter in Ed's POV but that is subject to change based on you guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey everybody, I apologize for the late update. I will try to get at least one out a week, but we went to a concert this weekend and had to come home early because I got sick of course. Also I purchased a new laptop since my other one was on the fritz. Huge thank you to; Le Confidant, ****FairyTail x FMA****, ****ZilSepam****, ****TheMistOfThePast****, ****RockingCass12****, ****AnimeContro****l, ****Tairulz****, ****Mikigotagun ****and ****evilpika ****for your wonderful reviews! I did want to let everyone know that this is not an AlxWinry story though I may someday write one, but that is all I am saying at this point. : ) Also thank you for the favorites and follows to this as well, feel free to give your opinion good or bad! **

**Disclaimer: No rights to FMA!**

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Tossing himself to face the other way in bed, Ed tried fruitlessly to become comfortable enough to finally shut his mind off and get some much needed rest. He'd been sitting awake thinking about the day far longer than normal, actually he tended to pass out the moment his body was laid down generally. Punching his pillow into place, he couldn't help the image that came to mind as he growled in frustration. Winry, Ms. Rockbell, he corrected sternly, crouched on her knees frantically pressing napkins to his coffee soiled pants. With a light flush in her cheeks, she had worked diligently at the stain that was mere centimeters from his manhood. Being as normal as the next man when a woman touched him like that, he was no more able to control the direction of his thoughts than any other. For her hasty actions her fingers were light on him, more like a caress than a frenzied response, and that had set his pulse to thudding loudly in his ears. A small flicker of building desire for her to move her hand that extra bit of space, and make contact with his growing bulge overwhelming him. For a moment, he had even pictured her rubbing with the same amount of enthusiasm that she was currently mustering in a much more explicit and completely inappropriate way. Before things had become embarrassing for both of them, he had taken her hands in his and removed them, grudgingly, from him. These were the images that were currently assaulting him.

Of course he'd had a few girlfriends and even gotten physical with a couple of them, but he was still fairly inexperienced. Mostly his relationships had gotten to the point of making out and some heavy petting, but upon seeing him shirtless or pantless and eyeing his automail, all thoughts of furthering the action were lost. Since then, Edward had decided to put thoughts of women from his mind to focus on his career and finding some way to give Alphonse back what he'd lost. They had been told by numerous doctors that the injury Al had received was too extensive and that all the therapy in the world wouldn't restore his independence from the wheelchair he'd grown used to. There had been hope initially that some of the issue was swelling with the nerves involved, since occasionally he was able to stand and also being lucky in the fact that he was able to control his bowel movements unlike so many others. However when time had begun to slip by, that optimism began to wane since most recovery of movement happened long before now. Shaking his head of the anguishing thoughts, he would just keep working and searching for someone with knowledge of a new treatment that could help his little brother. That's part of why he taken the job he had, he was constantly meeting others in the top percentile of their research and he was earning a healthy amount of money. Never would he have to rely on his errant father for anything ever again. That man had been around only when it was convenient for him and Ed never wanted to owe him a damn thing. Stopping that train of thought abruptly, he sat up and flipped on his light deciding on outlining his material for class the next day.

Which of course brought him back to wondering about Ms. Rockbell, was she an automail mechanic after all? Considering who her grandmother was, it was entirely possible though he had initially tossed that idea away. Being around the trade might have been why she had so easily pegged his own. As much as he didn't like to think about it, he would need to find a new engineer given the news that the elder Rockbell had passed away. She had been his own mechanic and now it made sense that he hadn't been able to reach her when he had tried to call. Knowing that Pinako was Winry's grandmother helped fill in some of the young woman's tenacity and personality. Pinako had been strong willed and quite a mouthy person. Certainly she was the best around, it would be hard to find someone in Central with her caliber of workmanship. When their father had sought someone to make his mail, he had chosen only the best, which was maybe the only good thing he could attribute to the man. Possibly he could ask Alphonse to approach Ms. Rockbell about the matter and see if she knew anyone with the skill to perform the maintenance he needed. Then again he wasn't sure if Al would want to now, not that he could blame him the last thing he wanted was to impose on her either.

His brother had had no idea of Winry's relation to his engineer, and had been upset with him for not saying anything previously when they had spoken about her. Though he had wanted to say something, he figured Alphonse knew who she was and had chosen to be friendly anyway, it was in his nature to easily make connections with others, unlike him. Edward had always been a bit standoffish or brash when he did make friends. Seeing his brother's expression when they had arrived home from the bar, he knew he was in for an earful. After a lengthy conversation, Al had decided that regardless of everything surrounding their coincidental meeting, that he enjoyed Winry's friendship and would continue to offer his own. Though Ed had disagreed initially, he could see what Alphonse liked about her and didn't want dissuade his sibling's choice one way or the other. In either case it didn't change where he stood with his student. She was exactly that, all other things aside, his first and foremost priorities were to further her education. Which was precisely why he needed to get their earlier encounter out of his mind.

For instance, recalling just how low cut the blouse she had been wearing that night at The Dark House, was not pertinent to his professional connection with her and needed to be excised from his head. Yet another example would be the smirk that came to his face when he pictured how flustered she had been when he had teased her about coming onto him. These musings were completely unnecessary from a Professor's role and needed to cease. Sighing loudly, he tried to do just that as he began writing his agenda for the next day.

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As expected, Alphonse was slightly testy with him when they parted ways and he found himself moody over the morning. That coupled with the minimal amount of sleep he had gotten the night before, set him up for failure before he'd even had a chance for success. Downing a large cup of coffee, he made his way to Biology sluggishly barely grunting greetings at fellow staff members as he passed them. Stopping in the men's room before class, he rinsed his face off with his flesh hand in an attempt to wake himself up further. Hearing the recognizable voice of the brutish football player that was in his Chemistry class the night before, he couldn't help but take notice to topic of their conversation.

"I asked her if she was coming to the game on Friday, she said she would let me know on Thursday if she had to work or not. Though if she does, we could always go after the game and see her wherever she works." The scarred man said almost unwillingly to his friends. Collecting more water to flush his face with, Ed continued to listen curiously.

"I'm sure she will find a way to get out of working, what girl doesn't say yes to you? Is there any girl here you haven't slept with?" Another member of the team quipped casually, causing him to frown.

"Winry is different, she didn't seem to be interested one way or the other." 'Scar' responded darkly and he hoped for her sake she would remain uninterested. Taking his time to walk to the paper towel dispenser, he fumbled with the lever unnecessarily.

"Well that probably won't last long, just get a couple drinks in her after the game and then see if she's still oblivious." Becoming utterly disgusted at the direction the suggestions were headed, he momentarily pictured the vibrant blonde tipsy while the jock took advantage of the situation. Sucking in an audible breath, he began to dry his face with the rough paper.

"Yea! I'm sure she'd be more than willing after a some shots!" The curly redheaded asshole shouted to the others.

"I don't know she seemed like a cherry to me!" Seething anger began to shake from within him at the beyond degrading turn the conversation had taken about the young woman.

"How would you know?" Red eyes flashing to meet his own molten with fury in the mirror, Edward glared menacingly at the football star. The brunette continued his stream of bullshit, breaking their connection.

"You can just tell, she looks like a girl who hasn't had much experience, which is even better if you ask me, minus the clingy aftermath...but then you just date one of their friends so they get the point." Their voices trailed off as they left the restroom, and Ed found himself heavily debating what he could do to prevent any harm from coming to Winry. Knowing that it wasn't his business one way or the other still didn't change the need to watch out for her that was currently overtaking the logic that his brain supplied saying not to get involved. If he didn't do anything, he didn't even want to know what could happen to her and that was what really bothered him.

Heading briskly to his classroom, he hoped that she would be early so he could somehow approach her about it. Upon entering, he saw her sitting with Sheska talking about something which stopped when he came in. Her shining blue eyes met his momentarily before a tentative smile crossed her face and the pair greeted him. More students filtered in then, as he courteously responded though deflated at not being able to speak with her. Looking at the clock he knew he had to start the lecture, and instead turned to set up his things for the day. Maybe he could talk to her afterwards.

All through the class, he felt nervous at the conversation he would need to have with her. Given that he hardly knew her, he wished it had been Alphonse that had heard instead of him. Al was able to broach even the hardest topics with a tact that Ed had never developed. He was worried he would come across wrong and make things awkward between them. Already he was more interested in her than he should be, and this was toeing a line he did not want to, especially after deciding the previous night to keep her in mind as strictly a student. If she were any other pupil would he intervene? Not that the answer changed what he was going to do in the slightest, but he wondered at it all the same.

Finally class wound down and thankfully almost everyone else had left before she began to pack up her things. Laughing with Sheska, they were discussing his brother apparently as they once again ceased their conversation at his nearing.

"Ms. Rockbell, may I have a minute of your time before you leave?" Feeling awkward about having thought of her as Winry in his mind and then having to refer to her as Ms. Rockbell out loud, he knew then that after this he needed to take a step back from her and the familiarity he had created towards her.

"Sure Professor Elric, Sheska, I will catch up with you and Al in a little bit at the shop okay?" The petite brunette agreed and then quickly exited after telling them both goodbye. "You wanted to speak with me?" Surprisingly he noted that all of the half hearted venom she had previously been treating him to had vanished in her voice.

"Uh, well yes..." Not knowing how the hell he was supposed to tell her that a stupid prick wanted to get her intoxicated and sleep with her without sounding ridiculous, he trailed off searching for neutral ground to start with. Glancing down at his hands nervously, an idea came to him. "I was curious if you knew of any automail mechanics in Central that I could contact for service?" Mentally patting himself on the back for his quick thinking, he watched as her eyes practically caught fire with interest.

"Oh! What happened with yours? Were they over booked already?" Swallowing thickly, he hadn't thought much ahead to where his question could lead, but still he answered her honestly.

"Actually, last night when you told us about your grandmother, I found out that that was why I hadn't been able to reach her about servicing my mail." Shifting his weight nervously onto his other leg, he waited for the response that he had expected if she ever found this out.

"My grandmother was your technician?" Eyes wide with curiosity, she sounded almost in awe of this fact.

"Yes, I didn't know that she had passed though, and I am sorry about that. She was a spitfire and one hell of a talented engineer." Cautiously he responded, eyeing her warily at his assessment of her grandmother.

"She was the best. As to anyone in Central, I don't know of any personally. I had actually planned on looking around for someone to continue my apprenticeship with." So she did have knowledge of mail, that brought about another question.

"So you are a mechanic also?" He asked though already knowing the answer.

"Yes, I've been working with mail since I was young actually. I've done two insertions and built many designs myself. That is why I'm here actually, I needed more instruction for a theory I have." Wow, now that answer surprised him. She was young to have already performed such surgeries. Most engineers didn't do those until much later in their career due to not only the actual mail anchoring involved but also the health risks. He was stunned, looking at her he would have never guessed her to be so capable.

"So you would be more than qualified to work on my automail?" Realizing that he was coming off as impressed, he attempted to level his expression so that he didn't seem overly friendly.

"Oh yes! I know my Granny's work very well!" Complete happiness lit her face as she responded enthusiastically and her fingers curled absently at the thought of getting her hands on the work. Truthfully he couldn't have planned this whole scenario any better if he had tried, not only would he be looking out for her while not appearing to, he would also be getting Al off of his back over his leg.

"Well, are you busy on Friday after class?" A genuine smile warmed his face while he congratulated himself silently for his quick thinking.

"Um, actually I'm not sure. I will know on Thursday, but either way it's the weekend and I could certainly work on it afterwards." At least no matter which the case was, he would know she would be alright. Looking to him for an answer, she seemed to shift her weight nervously about not being positive about her hours.

"Great, either way is fine for me, just let me know when you find out and we can finalize details." Shooting him a breathtaking smile, she spoke again.

"Alright! I will do that! Thanks for giving me a chance, Professor Elric. See you later." Watching the woman practically bounce out of his classroom, he couldn't help but stare after her. As much as he hated to admit it, she was interesting to him and he wished he too could allow himself a friendship with her like his brother. Almost whispering he replied to no one in particular.

"No problem Ms. Rockbell."

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**AN: This chapter was a bit shorter than normal but probably the last short one for a while. Hope you guys like it and can't wait to hear what you think will happen!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey guys! Here is another update, though the next might be a bit later since I am going to attempt to finish my other EdxWin story, Passing Through, over the next two weeks so that when I'm done I can focus all of my time on this one. Huge thanks to; Le Confidant, Mikigotagun, ZilSepam, RockingCass12, TheMistOfThePast AnimeControl and guest for your reviews! Also thank you to all who have faved and followed!**

**Disclaimer: No rights to FMA.**

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Winry had been on cloud nine the rest of the week after finding out that she would be getting her greedy hands on some of her grandmother's own automail. Wreathed in smiles and overzealous energy, the hours of classes and work had passed by quickly, and now she was halfway through her first Friday night shift at The Dark Horse. They were busy, but not as busy as she had figured they would be. Explaining that the rush wouldn't come until the game was over, Jean told her to enjoy the lull while she could. Truthfully she hoped it would get slammed, that way the rest of her shift would fly by so she would be off work and going to meet Professor Elric. Not that she was excited to spend 'quality' time with him, but more appropriately his wonderful mail.

When he had relayed the fact that her Granny had been his mechanic, she had been completely surprised. Usually Pinako and her would talk about her latest projects for customers, and sometimes she would even work on them with her careful supervision. Given that she had spent the last few years solely in her care, she was even more amazed that she hadn't met the cocky man previously. Now that she thought about it, she could recall some visits to Central throughout the time, but Winry had believed she was mostly going to meet with others in her profession to talk shop, not work on a client's automail that was located so far away. That aside, it seemed strange that they had never spoken about his work. Maybe her grandmother hadn't done the insertion and just fitted him with better mail. In either case, soon enough she would be able to touch the smooth surface that was her lifeblood.

Checking on her tables, she was starting to know the regulars and memorize their names and usual orders. Since taking the vodka tonic to the elderly woman she had come to know as Beverly, she hadn't repeated the mistake to her relief. Though she was in a good mood, she was a little disappointed that Al and Sheska hadn't made it in so far. Maybe they were busy studying, or awkwardly flirting again. Their idea of flirtation was talking about books that Winry was positive no one else in the free world had ever heard of, though neither of them would admit it. Of course it wasn't like anything had been said one way or the other, it was just a feeling she got while being around the two, but still it seemed obvious that there was a mutual interest between them. The thought warmed her. From the little that Alphonse had told her about his experience with girls, she gathered that being bound to his wheelchair had hindered his former relationship. In fact every time she considered that, she became upset on his behalf. He was one the most handsome, smart and kind people she had been lucky enough to meet, however she was hopeful that if her research and trials went well she would give him back his ability to walk. As much as she found herself wanting to tell him about her theory, she didn't want to get his hopes up in the case that it never came to fruition. Hopefully in a couple years though she would have everything completely fleshed out and be able to offer him the very first opportunity.

Returning to the work in front of her, she grabbed a clean towel and dipped it into the sanitary solution, before walking to the table that had just been bussed and wiping it down. As she stretched to reach the far side, she felt someone's eyes burning a hole into her and turned to see who could be watching her. Jumping in alarm to just how close Professor Elric had actually been to her, she angrily tugged her skirt which had ridden up some, firmly back into place before glaring steadily at the man. Noting his flushed cheeks at her quick motion of covering herself, she wondered if he had just been checking her legs out. Though she didn't really think so, she still quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly, then stealing his words from earlier in the week, she quipped snappishly at him.

"See something you like?" Instead of responding with some witty comeback per the usual, Professor Elric's face blazed feverishly and he actually fumbled in his dismissal of her words, making her laugh out loud at his reaction. This sound brought the all too familiar scowl that she had expected to his face, which only made her laugh harder until she saw that a few of the customers and Jean were looking at them with curious eyes. As he took a seat, she slipped back into work mode and spoke professionally. "Well what can I get you then, Ed?" Taking care to enunciate his name just to irritate him, she waited for his answer.

Grumbling, he responded, "Whiskey and soda."

"Is that your usual or do you switch it up sometimes?" A toothy grin replaced his sour expression at her question.

"I like to switch it up occasionally, I am a man after all." Rolling her eyes at his womanizing response, Winry ignored his comment and set off to get his drink. Telling Jean his order, she replaced the rag into the bucket, then returned to wait at the counter. That man was a pain in the ass, there was no confusion about that, but she did wonder if he meant what he said. There were times that he was confident, egotistical and brash, but then there were moments when he seemed vulnerable, kind and though she hated to admit it, attractive. She had given more thought than necessary to which side of his bi-polar personality was who he really was. As much as she wanted to believe that he really was an arrogant jerk, deep down something told her otherwise and that bothered her. Really it shouldn't matter either way, but for some reason unbeknownst to her, she was drawn to the mercurial man. Maybe it was the allure of his automail, his stubborn personality or his mesmerizing amber eyes. Whatever the reason was, she couldn't afford to put herself in any situation with him. Not only was he her Professor, but she knew she was the last person he would be interested in and even if he was, which she highly doubted, she would never be one of many. Picking up his potent smelling whiskey and a coaster, she headed back to his table.

"Here you go, Ed." Nodding at his drink in thanks, he asked about her night, much to her surprise. Telling him about the fairly tame evening, she explained that before the game got over with there would be a shift change and that the woman who worked the late nights would be in to relieve her, though she would need to stay for a bit to make sure the transition was smooth. Even more to her surprise, he related that she didn't need to hurry on his account since he typically stayed up late on weekends, and was going to enjoy a couple drinks while reading over homework that had been turned in that day. At his words, she told him she would leave him to it and check back on him shortly. As she bustled around the floor refilling drinks and serving food, she flushed cherry red when she noticed him watching her attentively, rather than grading his papers, as if he was waiting for something. Seeing that he had been caught staring, he too became red and returned his eyes hastily to the stack in front of him, bringing a smug smile to her face.

Not long after the game was supposed to have ended, precisely as Jean had predicted, a steady flow of college students began to enter the business. Right about the same time, Riza, the night server came in hurriedly, throwing on a short green apron and pulling her hair up into a tight bun. They had met last night before Winry had gone home, and she found that she liked the moderately stern woman. Appearing to have a way of not putting up with any shenanigans and still managing to be polite, she had seen the respect and reverence all of the customers treated her with and had decided to like her. Riza greeted them briefly even though Jean attempted to gain her undivided attention with compliments, she went right to serving tables that were coming in. Shaking her head at her shameless boss, Winry saw that he gave her a wink and told her that he was just trying to make her jealous, to which she snorted in response to before also walking away.

After things had calmed some and people were set up as well as she could possibly leave them, she made her way to Professor Elric's table as he was sipping his second glass, to let him know that she could leave as soon as Riza signaled that her side work was good.

"You are fine Ms. Rockbell, I'm nearly done finishing these, but still have a few left." He hadn't even bothered to look up at her as he addressed her, which suited her just fine. She found his eyes intense anyway.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to grade those while drinking?" Asking in a falsely sweet tone, he then turned his gaze to meet her own scrutinizing one, without answering. "I'm just saying those smell strong and I'm sure no one would want to receive better or worse marks than they deserve." Cocking his head to the side, she tried to read his expression but it was carefully neutral.

"Ms. Rockbell, have you ever had whiskey?" Pausing warily to debate whether or not he would laugh at her, she finally shook her head minutely. Who was she to assume anything about something that she hadn't tried before, she read clearly from the look he gave her then. "Well maybe someone who had never had it before wouldn't fare too well after two, but I'm not drinking to become intoxicated. I enjoy my liquor responsibly." Feeling instantly childish for a picking a fight with him just because of what he had said earlier, she began to apologize when he spoke again. "Would you like to try mine?" His molten eyes burned into her azure ones as she waged an internal struggle over her decision, but then she remembered where she was and answered.

"I can't, I'm on the clock still." To her wonderment, she was actually disappointed. As she had told Alphonse and Sheska, she would like to try it since she never had, but now wasn't the time.

"Fair enough, if you want the offer still stands when you are off work, as I'm sure putting up with me as a customer will be no easy feat." Chuckling to himself, she couldn't help but smile at his self deprecating humor. As she began to reply, she heard someone call her name but before she turned to see who it was, she caught Ed stiffen with an expression she didn't understand at the person's entrance.

Michael and a group of his friends were heading towards them and she greeted them happily, while Professor Elric began to gather his things abruptly. Luckily right as she was getting ready to ready to talk to them, Riza let her know she was good to go and Winry wished her good luck with her tables. Returning her attention to the men in front of her, she was startled when she realized the golden haired man was by her side.

"Hey Winry, I was thinking since you couldn't make it to the game I would come and see if you wanted to come to an after party with us. There will be a bunch of people you would get to meet, it's going to be a good time." Michael hadn't even acknowledged their teacher, but maybe he didn't remember his name so she let it go. Considering his words for a minute, she thought it would be fun to get out and meet some people from campus, but she had already agreed to work on the elder Elric's leg and he had been waiting on her this whole time so tonight wasn't an option.

"I would love to, but I've already got plans tonight. I'm sorry, it does sound fun though. Maybe next time?" Glancing down, she saw that their instructor's fingers were clenched tightly, stretching the fabric of his gloves and she wondered again what the hell his issue was. This time it was one of Michael's friends who spoke.

"You'll be missing out, there is going to be a keg and this is our first win. You should cancel your plans and come with us." Listening to the redhead, she got the feeling that they were a pushy group of friends and she didn't particularly like that. When she said she was busy, that meant she was busy.

"Yeah, you should just cancel, I'm sure whoever it is won't mind, we can even give you a ride there and back if you don't want to stay." Another man chimed in, as he took a step closer to her. Beginning to tell them yet again that she couldn't come, she was surprised to hear the elder Elric speak up.

"Didn't you guys hear her? She's busy." An edge in his tone alerted her to what she couldn't pick up on his face a few minutes ago, he was pissed, but thankfully for the sake of her job he hadn't even raised his voice, if anything it was lower than all of theirs had been. Looking up to him, she saw his tightly controlled anger warring his common sense to let loose.

"Yeah, we actually have to get going now, but let me know next time you plan on doing something after a game Michael." Taking care to only address him, since he appeared to be the only one who really cared about her response, Winry smiled nervously at him. His crimson eyes stared back at her in disappointment, and she felt guilty to a degree since he had asked her earlier in the week about coming to the game, but he hadn't said anything about after so she wasn't going to cave and go. Michael reached out and touched her shoulder briefly, before answering.

"Well, it was good to see you either way Winry. Maybe one night when you aren't working we can catch a movie or something." Since she didn't know why her Prof was so angry, she chose her words carefully.

"I'll let you know, see you later and congratulations on the win!" Pulling Ed out the door, she thought she heard one of the men say something about 'earning extra credit' before they were out of hearing range, but brushed it off. Unfortunately she hadn't been the only one to hear the statement.

"Those fucking pricks! Thinking I would take advantage of you for extra credit? Give me a break!" Seeing that he was furious enough to walk back in and cause a scene, she didn't loosen her grip on his wrist as she continued leading him in the direction of her home, still feeling the resistance he was giving her. Deciding that maybe not talking about the whole thing right now, in this case, would be the best solution, Winry silently led him down the sidewalk. Still, she found herself thinking about the entire situation and only becoming more confused by it.

Finally as they got further away from The Dark Horse, he began to relax and as he did he realized that she was holding his wrist. Alarmed at the casual contact they were making, he gently pulled himself from her hold, leaving her to guess at his discomfort. When they reached her home, she pulled her keys out and unlocked the door noisily. Flipping on the lights, she walked to her kitchen for a glass of water and offered him one as well, which he declined quietly. He seemed embarrassed by the events of the last thirty minutes and stayed silent as she untied her apron. Letting him know she was going to change into her worksuit, she went to her room and stripped off her skirt and shirt, slipping into her coveralls and tube top. Rolling the top half of the canvas material down to under her navel, she carefully appraised herself in the mirror on her door. Why she cared how she looked to work on his mail was beyond her when she was just going to end up covered in grease, but still she smoothed her hair up into a clip and headed back towards the irritated man.

"So why were you so angry about those guys?" Immediately jumping into a conversation about what she hadn't asked earlier, Winry moved so she could watch his face. Instantly it hardened to the question, but she noted the flash of his eyes to her bare stomach before they quickly moved to focus on anything else. Biting her lip to hide the smirk that would probably wouldn't help anything, she flattened the part of her pants that had risen some.

"They were just overly pushy about you coming, that's all." If that were all, then why had he had looked upset before they had even tried to talk her into coming? Saying as much, she waited again for his reason. "They are just a bunch of self serving opportunists, I hear the way they talk about girls on campus and it makes me mad." Recalling his earlier remark about switching things up when it came to woman, she eyed him steadily, calling him out with no words necessary. "Oh come on, I was just kidding before, they weren't." Exasperation clear in his voice, she considered his statement.

"You sound as if you are referring to someone specific." Raising a questioning eyebrow at him, she wondered just what he had heard and when. Huffing in reply, Ed averted his gaze from her own. Knowing that he wasn't going to tell her, she continued. "Well in any case, I wouldn't let anyone talk me into something I didn't want to do. As I wasn't going to tonight." Stating firmly and placing a hand on her hip, she made it clear that she wouldn't put up with anyone's crap, including his.

"Yeah, but when you are with group of people drinking, especially when you don't know your limit, you never know what could happen with people like that, Ms. Rockbell." The whole Ms. Rockbell shit was grating on her deteriorating civility.

"First of all, when you are here I am Winry, not Ms. Rockbell. Secondly, even if I did go that doesn't mean I would have drank. I don't know them and I'd rather have my first drink with people I trust. Thirdly, why does it matter to you what happens to me one way or another? You don't even like me." Well, she hadn't meant to tell him about her suspicions, but apparently her brain to mouth filter had ceased operation.

"Fine _**Winry**_, when did I ever say that I disliked you?" Between the way he said her name and his question, she decided the best course was to just lay her opinion out there.

"You didn't, but from your actions I would gather that I'm not someone you care to be around." Okay, so he had been decent to her at times also, but that wasn't what they were discussing.

"If that's what you think." Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he had responded blandly, irritating her further.

"Most of the time it is. Maybe if you didn't consistently scowl at me I wouldn't get that impression." She countered frustrated with the whole conversation and the man's indifferent attitude, well formerly indifferent attitude, she corrected herself as she saw him turn red.

"I scowl at everyone!" Yelling defensively at her, he was almost comically provoked.

"Well maybe you shouldn't! You look much better when you don't." Cupping a hand over her mouth, she just knew he would take her words differently than she had meant them.

"So what I'm hearing is that you think I look good?" The man was a yo-yo of reactions that she struggled to keep up with. One second he was shouting and the next he was wearing a lopsided grin. Inconstant, outspoken, lecherous...

"Gahhh, you are an impossible ass! Just take off your clothes so we can do this already!" Realizing her verbal quagmire, she blushed furiously and didn't even attempt to remedy her thoughtless demand for fear of somehow making it worse. His booming laughter filled the small room, and though she fought it, she cracked a smile which she quickly wiped from her face. Why did she find this so funny?

"I didn't realize you were so eager to get me undressed." Smirking cheekily, he began to comply with her request and moved to take his clothes off, though he seemed to hesitate after glancing to her, before actually removing them. Walking to the table where she had set up her tools, she began to saturate a cloth with oil but then looked up to her customer as he was pulling off his shirt, having removed his gloves. Thankfully he was focused on his task so he didn't notice when her mouth popped open at the unhindered view of his muscular chest and toned abs. Wow. The contrast between his flesh and the shining mail stunned her with it's perfect union. Simply stated, the man was overwhelmingly sexy. Shaking the unwanted thought from her head, she strove to remind herself that this was her teacher and her customer at this moment, not some handsome statue to gawk at. The sound of his zipper opening made her acutely aware of the fact that in few seconds, this would be the closest to seeing an undressed man she had ever experienced. As he pulled his tight pants down, she swallowed thickly when the fabric of his blue boxers lowered a tantalizing two inches with his jeans allowing her a teasing glimpse of the small trail of golden hair that led downwards to an area that if the rest of his magnificent body was giving her a preview of, was sure to be just as fulfilling. What the HELL had gotten into her!? She needed to get her apparently overactive imagination and raging hormones in check before he caught her ogling him! Forcing her gaze unwillingly back to the oil that she had been pouring into the rag, she noticed that she had spilled a generous amount on herself and made a small 'eep' sound as she tried in vain to wipe the substance from her stomach.

Seeing the mess she had made, Edward made a move to help her by retrieving a towel from the kitchen, that she tried to accept with trembling fingers. Unfortunately in her fluster she had dropped it, and they both bent to grab it, resulting in a collision of their heads. Muttering a curse, he reached for it again, as she did, and their hands groped each other for a second before hastily recognizing the feel of the other's warm skin and pulling back in unison. Wide sapphire eyes met deep honey and then they both laughed awkwardly at the moment's tension.

"I'll get it since you are all thumbs, Ms. Rock- I mean Winry." Handing her the towel, she thanked him as she endeavored to clean her mess, only succeeding in further smearing the oil all over. Sighing loudly, she acknowledged that a shower would be her best solution later, and instead asked him to sit down so she could examine him. Filling the seat next to her, she knelt to start with his leg, since it had worried her the most. Running her fingers over the steel, she checked for damage to the outer plates and screws, beginning with each of his toes. He was lucky that her Granny had been his engineer, her automail was made to last. Skimming upwards, she stretched this way and that to look at the underside of the piece, before ending at where his skin met metal. Carefully she touched the skin that had indeed begun to pull away from the port, to look for chafing. There was some redness and she was thankful he had come to her when he did, without a tune up to tighten everything into place his flesh would have continued to separate from the anchor and gotten infected. She decided that she should take a look inside the plates as well since it had probably been quite some time between his last maintenance and now, and a deep cleaning wouldn't hurt.

Using her screwdriver, she quickly opened the exterior to expose the wiring and look over the connections to make sure there were no leaks inside. For the most part everything was pretty good, though a few of the wires were going to need replaced in the near future, from normal wear and tear. Performing a thorough cleaning to the inner panel, she replaced the plates, oiling them as well, and began to measure his natural leg to see if he had grown enough to make a difference. Anything over an eighth of an inch was sufficient to cause pain and damage to the port. After taking down his dimensions, she appraised the automail leg as well to compare the numbers. Frowning to herself, she realized that he had gained nearly two inches since his last fitting. No wonder there was such irritation! What an idiot! The image of her Granny braining the man for his stupidity played in her mind, bringing a goofy grin to her face.

"Ed. Did you realize that you have grown almost two inches since you were fitted with this mail?" Questioning tersely, Winry noticed that even though he was still awake, he seemed fairly tired and fading fast.

"I guess." Shrugging sleepily, she wondered if he would make it through her working on his arm.

"You idiot! No wonder you were favoring your other leg! If you had used this any longer, you would have ended up having to get re-insertion surgery! Does that sound like something you are interested in?" As his hazy, golden eyes opened marginally at her raised voice, he shook his head in response. "Didn't think so. From here forward you had better make sure to let me know when things aren't right, that is if you decide to let me be your regular mechanic. But either way, when you experience any pain or discomfort, you better promise to take care of it." Nodding his head, she accepted his wordless agreement. "I can have a new leg made for you in a week. We can work on your arm tonight if you want or next week after I fit you with your new piece, it's up to you." Blinking at her slowly, he stood up.

"Next week is fine, I'm pretty tired anyways." Replying with a large yawn, he stretched his arms above his head, holding for a second before reaching down to pick up his clothes and beginning to get dressed. As he bent to slip on his pants, she stole a brief look at his body again before he covered it. Glancing away, she rose to get something from her kitchen cabinet.

"Here is some salve, I want you to apply it to the skin around your port twice daily until you get the new mail. If you don't, your head will get to meet my wrench, got it?" Doing her best to sound menacing, she had a feeling it was for nothing as drowsy as he was.

"You sound just like Pinako." She hadn't been expecting that comment, but was happy to hear it nonetheless.

"Well I'll take that as a compliment, she was the best. You can pay me for tonight once I am finished installing your leg." Walking him to the door, she handed him the small container of ointment.

"Thanks, Winry." Pleased with this sudden politeness, she beamed at him.

"Of course! This is what I do after all, I'll see you Monday. If you see Al will you tell him I'll be around the coffee shop in the morning if he is bored?" With the absence his brother tonight, she wondered if he and Sheska had gone out somewhere and wanted to see if she could give encouragement in that direction if not.

"Sure. See you Monday." Shutting the door, she thought of something and reopened it to tell him.

"Hey Edward, thanks for earlier. Even if I didn't need the backup with those guys, I still appreciate you looking out." Seeing the embarrassment in his cheeks, she found herself wondering how at times he could be so cocksure and at others modest.

"Um, sure, you're welcome. Good night." Waving at him, she entered her home and tidied up her tools some, though she was distracted by the mental picture she had taken of him earlier that appeared then. Knowing just how incredible he looked shirtless, she was going to have to be mindful of her reactions around him. Besides no matter how good he looked on the outside, it was what was inside that firm chest that mattered most, and that was somewhere that was none of her business.

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**AN: Okay...so this was a monster of a chapter for me lol. I apologize I got a bit carried away with it. I will work on Passing Through tomorrow and hopefully update that as well. In any case, let me know what you guys think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey guys, not much to say other than thank you all so much for the follows, favorites and reviews! To; Le Confidant, ZilSepam, Mikigotagun, Tairulz, TheMistOfThePast, RockingCass12, AnimeControl and Seagirl Neptuna I can't say enough how much your words of encouragement mean!**

**Disclaimer: No rights to FMA!**

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As Edward sleepily walked home from Winry's, he found himself replaying her parting words of him looking out for her through his mind. The reaction to the group of men who had attempted to gain her company for the night, had come almost as a reflex that he had no control over. In fact, he had wanted nothing more than to stay out of her business, but had been completely unable to stop the pull of his body to her side the second that the red eyed man had entered. After hearing Scar's friends trying to coerce her, the words that had left his mouth weren't even registered until he noticed Winry's wide eyes at his interference. The only thing he WAS able to restrain was his fists from battering the faces of the men who had said that Winry was clearly earning some extra credit that night. He had been infuriated and disgusted at their suggestive assumption, but had remembered that they were currently at her place of work and if he ever wanted to come back he needed to get away from them quickly.

Nearing his apartment, he noticed the dark haired pain in his ass that was sitting on his steps, and sighed loudly at the surety that he would not being going to bed anytime soon. Slowing his pace as if to put off the coming conversation, Ed shoved his hands in his pockets and approached the uninvited guest.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to show up." With a smirk, the older man stood.

"Yeah, well you had the option of seeing yourself back home." Scowling, Ed was ready to go to bed after his very long day.

"In a good mood I can see." The bastard seemed cheery in his sarcastic assessment.

"What can I say Mustang, just seeing your face after a long day is enough to liven my spirits." He tossed back flippantly, this was a volley of words that they were long familiar with.

"Wow, you really are in a bad mood, but I know just how to put you in a better one." Raising a finger in suggestion, the Elric had a feeling he knew what the man's brilliant idea was.

"You leaving?" Smiling at his own jibe, he waited for Mustang to say what he already expected.

"Very funny Edward, no I mean getting a drink down at the pub." Imagine that, he thought. Roy must have the consternation of an ox, he was always hanging around bars picking up women. Actually, most of what he knew about relationships and sex had come from this man's tales of his conquests, which seemed endless. Many images he never wanted to picture were burned into his mind because of Mustang.

"I just left there." Replying flatly in a tone that showed just how little interest he had in returning, Ed yawned loudly, stressing his need for a good night's sleep.

"Really? Did you see the hot server?" Instantly he was awake and his curiosity was piqued.

"Which hot server?" Hoping that he wasn't talking about Winry, Ed glared at him questioningly.

"Hmm...Well, she's blonde, has great legs, and seems intelligent. You know, everything I look for in a woman." Frowning angrily, he thought how wrong Roy would be for her. Being a perpetual bachelor by choice, he tried not to picture his friend leaving the mechanic like he had so many other women before.

"Are you talking about Winry?" Throat thick, he voiced the specific concern that he hadn't wanted to.

"I don't know any Winry, but if she fits that description, I certainly wouldn't mind meeting her either." Waggling his dark eyebrows suggestively, Ed nearly growled in irritation at the implications that followed that statement, but instead he just narrowed his golden eyes at him. "I was kidding, but I will steer clear if you like her, especially since you never seem to be interested in any women." Stating in a suddenly sincere tone, Roy regarded him with a curious gaze.

"I'm not interested in her!" All but shouting in alarm, Ed's voice wavered making him sound unsure.

"Whatever you say, for now let's go check out the attractive night server, Riza, while you tell me about this Winry. I'm fascinated." Great. Just what he wanted was to spend the night talking about the girl who hadn't made it far from his mind without the help of the nosy man.

"You have no shame." Ed muttered, while shaking his head at how nonchalant Mustang was.

After taking his things inside, they headed towards the bar making small talk about their weeks. They had met years before when Roy Mustang had been his probation officer, though he hadn't liked him at the time, the smug man had always seemed to hang around if for nothing more than to enjoy inciting his ire. In time he had grown used to the biting wit and sharp mind that he possessed. Truthfully, though he would never admit it aloud, Edward liked him and counted him as a close friend. Roy had always been honest, genuine, and probably the closest thing to a father that he had.

Approaching the business for the second time that night, they took a seat where he had been earlier. Not waiting long, Riza came to the table and got their drink order, while Mustang attempted to lay his 'A' game on her, unsuccessfully. Even if the waitress had been interested in his appearance, Ed was sure she wouldn't give him a chance until he set aside his over the top comments and spoke to her normally. Watching them, he noticed how very no nonsense she was and wondered what she would look like with a smile like Winry's on her face. Grimacing at his recurring thoughts of his student, he took a large swallow of the whiskey Riza had set in front of him. Noticing his steady imbibement, the older man turned his attention back to him.

"So tell me about this girl, Winry." Seeing that Riza was still standing by their table, Ed nearly spit the drink out in embarrassment. That stupid idiot was going to make it seem like he liked Winry in front of her damn co worker! Nervously raising his blush stained face to the woman who looked like she could be his mechanic's mother, but for the reddish brown eyes, he silently pleaded with her to ignore the conversation and walk away. As if understanding his wordless wish, she left to check on another table with the hint of a smirk.

"You tactless prick! You couldn't wait until Riza wasn't right next to us before bringing Winry up!?" Realizing that he had almost yelled, he settled himself into the seat and crossed his muscular arms over his chest in irritation.

"Woah Edward, no reason to get so defensive over your new girlfriend, I was simply being a considerate friend by asking." Wearing an expression of innocence, Mustang was a consummate bullshitter.

"You were prying, and you said it front of her on purpose to get a rise out of me." Which he had succeeded in, but he wasn't about to point that out.

"And oh, what a rise it was, I truly didn't expect for you to react quite so energetically. You must really like her." Cocking a black eyebrow at him in inquiry, he awaited confirmation of his statement.

"I can't, I mean I don't, but even if I did, I couldn't. You don't understand." Cutting himself off before he backed himself into a verbal corner, Ed sat stiffly, hoping he would let it go at that.

"Oh, I see. So your little brother likes her and you are playing the gentleman and stepping aside to make way for him?" That was not the case, though if it had been, he would have. He would give anything to make his sibling happy.

"NO! You dipshit! I told you that you wouldn't understand, and I don't want to talk about it even if you could." Spitting his words in a tone that screamed for Roy to drop the subject, Edward reached for his glass and took a drink, enjoying the subtle burn that accompanied it. A funny look crossed his company's face, as if he was debating the situation and had one more guess that he couldn't resist sharing.

"Is she a lesbian?" Trying to keep the swallow of liquor he had left inside his mouth, he had to pause and concentrate on the action, before reacting on the seriously delivered query.

"Goddammit Mustang, you are such an ass! Why I even came out is beyond me!" Beginning to pull out his wallet to just leave money on the table and leave, Ed's abrupt movement was interrupted by a conciliatory hand preventing him from doing so.

"Hey, hey, I was kidding. I apologize, but I am genuinely curious as to why you can't like her?" With a sigh, Edward resigned to telling him, if only to stop his increasingly discomforting guesses.

"You remember Pinako Rockbell, my automail engineer?" Nodding his head, the man remained silent so that he would continue. "Well Winry is her granddaughter." Comprehending the correlation, Roy's face winced for a second, though he quickly wiped the look from his face. "And even if she wasn't, she is still my student at Uni. So now do you understand that despite whatever I may or may not think of her, that I can not become her friend?"

"I see your point, and while that is a good one, I don't see why you can't just explain everything to her and let her decide if she wants to be friends with you...it's not like it was-" Abruptly terminating his words with his own, the Elric glared angrily.

"I'm not fucking discussing this. I told you that I never wanted to talk about it again and I don't. After she is done fixing my mail, I am going to keep my distance as much as possible." Even if he did enjoy being around her, he couldn't let his growing interest in the woman go any farther, for too many reasons to count. Already she was on his mind more than was wise.

"Why did you even commission her to work on it in the first place if you don't want to be around her?" As usual, Mustang asked an all too sharp minded question, cutting precisely to the point.

"Well, uh, Al's her friend and she was looking for work here. I needed a new mechanic in any case since Pinako passed away." Fumbling out the weak excuse that seemed the most relevant besides his main reason, Ed hoped he would let it go at that.

"Interesting that Alphonse has chosen to be her friend, though he must realize the connection. Still, I don't totally buy your reasons for enlisting her service, why not hire someone else?" A uncontrolled flinch of his eye gave him away. "Oh so there is another reason. Do share." Seeing that the sooner he relayed what had prompted his action, the sooner they could be done with this conversation, he acquiescently replied.

"I overheard what these pricks were saying about how they were going to get her drunk after the game tonight, so they could take advantage of her less inhibited state. I couldn't just let them, and I couldn't just tell her. So I took into account all of the aforementioned factors, and made a calculated choice." Roy ran a finger over his darkly stubbled jaw, as if considering this.

"I understand your actions, but if you plan on distancing yourself from her, then essentially even if you prevented something tonight, who is to say something won't happen later?" Taking in his valid concern, a muscle lept in his cheek as his jaw tightened reflexively to the thought of someone hurting her. That was a very good point, and one that he actually hadn't thought of. Given the determination of the men involved, he had to admit that it certainly wouldn't be a stretch for that very scenario to occur. "Look I'm not telling you what to do, but I'm encouraging you to see things from all the perspectives you may be missing with your situation blocking your objective view. You may not admit it now, but if you care about her at all as a friend or otherwise, it's something to think about." Hearing the sincerity laced in his tone, Ed remembered how hard it had been originally to combine the two sides of Mustang that he had seen. Some moments he was a consummate womanizer and smart ass, but others he was caring and depthful, possessing intelligent insight that others did not.

Finishing his now watery drink, Edward glanced around to see that there were far less customers in the bar, but that Riza was still keeping herself busy filling condiments while yet another ardent suitor tried to pick her up. Seeing the defiant expression on her face at his unwanted advances, he wondered whether they should step in or not and gestured to Roy, who had long since noticed the exchange. Rising swiftly from the table, Mustang walked briskly towards her after watching the over familiar man grab Riza's arm firmly. Following right on his heels, Edward went to join his friend. When the blue eyed lothario noted their presence, he spoke rudely.

"She'll get you a drink in a minute guys, she's busy right now." Turning his attention back to the blonde server, he completely ignored them standing right next to him. Grabbing the man's jacket, Roy roughly began to escort him away from Riza. "Hey! Who the hell do you think you are!?" Gaining the interest of the few remaining patrons, the man bellowed in protest.

"I'm her boyfriend, and you were just leaving." Moments like this reminded Edward of just how Mustang was so good at his job. He was able to remain level headed and take care of anything that may arise, which was fitting for a probation officer. When he was assigned a new person to monitor, he never knew just what to expect but always handled things decisively and with a finesse that not many others had. Actually just last year, he had been promoted to senior probation officer and if things continued the way they were headed, he would even be looking at another, possibly to probation area manager.

"The HELL I was!" Just then the bartender came out from the back, butting a cigarette after seeing the situation that was unfolding. Joining Roy, he let the former customer know that he was no longer welcome in his establishment. Standing in the doorway to make sure he was going to keep heading away, the owner propped the entrance open and took out another cigarette. Talk about a chainsmoker, Ed thought. His friend had gone to Riza's side to ask if she was alright.

"I'm fine, this wouldn't have happened if Jean would just let me carry my gun at work." Leaning on the bar next to the two, the professor just couldn't wait to see how Mustang handled that statement. On second thought, he would probably like her even better now.

"You have a gun?" Mustang practically shouted in excitement as the owner, Jean, came back around the counter and while they talked, he listened after signaling for their check.

"Yes, would you like to see it? It's a Ruger, long barrel .357." Oh shit, she had him at long barrel. Slipping a bill on the tab, he told the man to keep the change and turned his focus back to the people in front of him.

"I do like a woman who knows her firearms." He could hear the excitement coming through the comment.

"That was meant to be a deterrent." Smirking widely, Ed thought she was perfect him now that he was getting a chance to see her equally snappy personality. A woman who could hold her own, he wondered how the older man would do with someone who stood on level ground with him.

"Well, it had quite the opposite effect I have to say. Maybe we could go shooting sometime and see who's aim is better?" Watching the crooked grin that sat on Roy's face, he waited to hear her brutally shoot him down again like earlier, but then found himself surprised at her reply.

"That confident in your skills?" She placed a small hand on her waist, challenging him non verbally as well.

"I'm as confident as you appear to be." Sliding his hands casually into his pockets, he picked up the gauntlet that she had thrown down.

"I work the day shift tomorrow, come by after five. We'll see who is bluffing." Edward couldn't believe it! That arrogant bastard had actually managed to get her to say 'yes' after all. Great his head would get even more swollen than it already was. Rolling his eyes at their strange flirtation, he was ready to call it a night.

"I'll be here at 4:45. See you then, Riza."

Leaving the pub for the second time that night, they headed towards his home talking about which pieces he would take for their outing tomorrow. Ed was happy to realize how excited the shameless seducer was about something besides a female's looks, this would be good for him. Stopping in front of his stairs, he told Mustang to let him know how everything went with Riza. As he went to head up to his door, he was halted by a last bit of advice.

"Just remember Elric; you can hide from things and never experience any pain or trouble, but in doing that, you are not living either. If you want to talk about anything, I'm just a phone call away. Try and look at the bigger picture so you don't end up sorry over things you could've prevented and lost opportunities." Letting the words hang in the air and sink in, he gave a small smile and a wave for the recommendation before going inside. Even though he wanted to stick to his initial decision regarding the sapphire eyed woman, he found himself pausing to consider just how things could be if he did continue onward in their strange circumstances. Perhaps he would need to reconsider things after a good night's sleep, though even if he made a list of pros and cons, he wondered if any amount of pros would even begin to balance the few cons.

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**AN: Holy goodness, I'm exhausted, sick and I'm pretty sure this was the hardest chapter for me to stick with in life. Just thought you guys should know how much it took to write this one lol. Hope you guys liked seeing Roy and Riza included! Any opinions about whose POV you guys want to see next? Thank you again for reviewing!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Alright everyone, this chapter is going to be a bit shorter, but only because the next one will be quite a bit longer. I can't thank everyone enough for the favorites, follows and reviews! Huge thanks to; Le Confidant, Sokkasm, TheMistOfThePast, RockingCass12, Mikigotagun, ZilSepam, ****xIcyChanx****, ****MemoriesOfVoxei****, AnimeControl, ****steel-trap****, ****WritersUnite717****and guest who took the time to let me know what you thought of the last chapter! So many of you are writing your own wonderful stories and I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the awesome FMA reading material. **

**Disclaimer: No rights to FMA.**

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Over the last two weeks, she had ate, slept and even dreamed automail, which was evident from the shamefully cluttered appearance of her home. Looking around her very messy table, she picked through screws, wires and tools that were scattered everywhere until she finally found the quarter inch nut that would finish the assembly of the outer plate to the inner panel. For what felt like forever, she had been ceaselessly working on Professor Elric's arm in every spare moment she possessed. Determined to show him exactly how well she knew her chosen profession, she had obsessed over every detail until she was beginning to drive herself crazy. Upon the completion of his new leg, the man had been impressed by the lightweight and perfectly designed metal that she had breathed life into. Each dip specifically crafted to mirror his natural limb, he had hired her to officially be his permanent engineer a week ago that day. That brought her to where she currently was, covered in oil and sweat, cussing loudly when she dropped the nut she had been searching through parts for at least ten minutes now.

Glancing to her small clock in the kitchen, she realized that he would be there anytime to have his new arm installed. Faintly she felt her heart speed up when she heard a knock of the door, she knew she was being ridiculous but she couldn't help it. Quickly she wiped down the metal, until it gleamed in the light. Running to the door, her stomach flipped anxiously and she let the golden man in. Greeting him with a somewhat embarrassingly breathy voice, she cleared her throat and directed him to the chair at the table. He asked her how everything was going, and she told him that she had just finished, while she reorganized her tools into an order that would make the installation easier. When she finally looked at him, a strange expression clouded his eyes.

"Geez Winry, have you been sleeping at all the last week?" Frowning at him, she responded defensively despite catching the hint of worry in his question.

"I've slept some...I've been busy." Sure she had slept, for a few minutes at a time when her energy gave out, generally with some part of his mail stuck to her face.

"You could've taken more time to get this done for me you know? I wouldn't get rid of you just because you weren't done in a week. Have you eaten? You look skinny. I'm surprised you can even lift my new piece with those sticks you call arms." Glancing self consciously to herself, she rolled her eyes and answered him snippily.

"Ha ha ha, you ass. Yes, I've been eating." His eyebrows lifted in mock offense.

"Wow Ms. Rockbell, real nice way to speak to your customer and your Professor. Did you eat today?" Of course she hadn't today, as soon as she had gotten out of class she had hurried home since she didn't work tonight at The Dark Horse, to put the final touches on his appendage.

"No but-" Not letting her continue her excuse, he spoke over her loudly.

"That's exactly my point, you can't go all day without food. Why don't you grab a snack before we start." She stared down at the floor in defeat, knowing that she didn't have anything but condiments in her fridge.

"I haven't gone grocery shopping yet." Muttering in an exasperated tone, she knew he wasn't going to like that answer either. Why did he care how she was taking care of herself? All week he had seemed to give her the cold shoulder, and now he was picking fights with her over her well being? This man made zero sense to her. Briefly she wondered if he even realized how concerned he sounded. Probably not, she decided, but when he did pick up on it, he would more than likely go back to cool civility with her. Maddening, the Elric was utterly maddening.

"What kind of woman doesn't have groceries?" Asking with a bewildered look on his tanned face, he stared her down intensely while awaiting the answer.

"The kind that builds automail for mouthy clients." Grinning cheekily at him, she pulled a chair around to his side, so she could delve into her work and begin to ignore him.

"Point taken, why don't you come get dinner with Al and I after we are done?" Slipping off his shirt without warning, Winry was stunned by the smell of his cologne as it filtered through the air with his motion. Although the scent didn't remind her of any store bought fragrance, it was equally enticing. Something like leather, oil and and amber mixed with the sunshine warming his skin, he was intoxicating. That coupled with the sight of him bare chested and muscular in front of her, was enough to clot air in her throat. Though his skin was littered with scars of varying shapes and sizes they didn't detract, if anything, she only found them to heighten the allure to him. Literally having to shake her head to clear her uncontrolled thoughts, her brain caught up with the moment and she realized that he had asked her a question. Unfortunately for both of them, she was still flustered as she picked up her chair to move closer to his side, so she hadn't noticed that he was sitting lazily with his legs extended, until she plunked herself down on his flesh foot. With a surprised yelp, Edward swore creatively.

"Oh shit, Edward! I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" All but squealing the words, Winry felt her cheeks redden immediately at her own clumsiness.

"Dammit Rockbell, if you didn't want to go you didn't have to break my foot in answer!" Shouting even though he was making a joke, her teacher himself was red faced, but for an entirely different reason.

"I said I was sorry! I didn't mean to smash your foot. Besides as skinny as you say I am, shouldn't you have not even noticed my miniscule weight?" Even though she knew she had hurt him, she couldn't resist tossing back that reference to her figure at him.

"Very funny." His face was a mix of humor and slight pain, and she figured if had enough energy to be sarcastic, he was probably okay.

"If anything this makes my statement before more valid. Clearly if you are so underfed that you miss a grown man sitting right in front of you, then you need to eat something. In any case, after the pain you have inflicted, I would say you owe me coming along without further argument." Weighing her options and his typical responses to all of said options, she decided the best route was acquiescence. In fairness, she had been a bit lightheaded, though she wasn't sure what type of hunger had caused it.

"Fine, but you should let me look at your foot, even with shoes on I could have broken something." Winry stated plainly while watching his warm eyes for any sign of true discomfort.

"I have had far worse, I think I'll make it." What a typical man response.

"Ah, so you are playing up the damage so you can justify dragging me along with you two?" His face became suddenly serious for a moment, and she wondered what she had said to invoke the change.

"Not at all, I just think you should take better care of yourself." Giving her a small smile, Ed tried to reassure her, though really all he had done by smiling was set her off balance. This might've been the first non arrogant one she had ever seen on him, and despite it's brevity, he had looked years younger. Nearly vulnerable even. Cockiness mixed with his overwhelming looks she could handle, but actual friendliness on his face set her heart to thudding quickly. Feeling her face flush even brighter, she chose not to respond for fear of what would come out of her mouth and began installing his arm.

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Upon entering the small bistro that his brother had picked, Ed searched around for Alphonse while Winry followed close behind him. She had been fairly quiet since she had been working on his automail, probably from the lack of attention she had been giving herself while running herself ragged the past two weeks. Truly she was her grandmother's granddaughter, the woman was a mechanical genius. Not only was his leg back to normal, really both of his limbs were working better than his natural ones now. Seeing how much she must have invested herself in his parts for them to be so in sync with his own, he had felt himself being more open in front of her. This dinner a prime example of such behavior, he had let his worry for her well being stop him from keeping himself separated from her. These were the reactions that were worrisome to him.

After speaking with Mustang the other night, he had been going back over the man's words more frequently than he would have liked to. Would it really be so bad to be her friend? Alphonse was clearly able to handle the emotions that came with the connection, but in reality Al had more of a right to be able to do so. Also unlike he had originally believed, his brother had no physical interest in her beyond that friendship, his thoughts were increasingly less platonic, and that was a big problem. The more he was around her, the more he wanted to continue to be around her. Her personality was light hearted and witty, able to match his own easily, she was never cowed by his clever comments. Clearly given the quality of her profession, she must have been a child prodigy and seeing her results in class, she stood out academically as well. Hearing her laugh was beginning to become his favorite sound. All that was in addition to her appearance, and he was in a world of trouble whenever he caught himself thinking of that. Glimpsing Alphonse at a table in the corner, he led Winry back but was all but pushed aside when she saw his brother.

"Al!" Exclaiming happily, the fair haired woman wrapped an arm casually around Al's shoulders for a quick hug. Geez, you'd think she hadn't seen him in months as excited as she was.

"Winry! I didn't know you were coming with Ed to dinner." Hearing the minute fluctuation in his sibling's tone, that he just knew was directed in question to him, he averted his eyes from the scrutiny in Al's at his clear deviation in action regarding Winry.

"Me either, I hope you don't mind!" Responding to the subtle inflection that she must have also noticed and mistook, Winry answered.

"Not at all, I'm happy to see you! You've been so busy recently I haven't seen you except in class or at the bookstore. Hey Brother!" Al quickly allayed any doubt to her welcome presence, then acknowledged him also.

"Hey Al, how was your day?" He tried to casually distract any further unspoken queries from Alphonse by turning the attention away from her unexpected invitation to dinner. Within a few minutes, the tactic had succeeded and only occasional curious glances accompanied by raised brows were seen. He knew his brother was picking apart every single thing he said and every movement he made around his student, so he did his best to decently courteous but distant. After they had finished eating, the conversation moved towards talk of the weekend and their upcoming plans.

"So Winry what are you doing tomorrow night?" Al asked casually. Pausing to consider that for a minute, Winry seemed to be running through her schedule in her mind.

"Well now that I'm done with his work, nothing." Good she wasn't working tomorrow, hopefully she would be able to get a decent night's sleep tonight, the shadow of purple under her eyes a testament to her long week.

"We should all go out tomorrow night." Appearing delighted at the idea, Winry smiled brightly at the suggestion.

"That would be fun, did you already ask Sheska?" As if realizing something, she stopped speaking, only to continue a moment later.

"But Al, how are you going to get into a bar besides The Dark Horse?"

"No I didn't ask her yet and don't worry about that. No one ever seems to hassle me overmuch about ID, and even if they did, the place I'm thinking about allows people 18 and over in, just not to drink." With a wry smirk, his mild tempered brother actually reminded him of himself for a minute.

"Incorrigible." She laughed at his rebellious streak, which brought a smile to his own lips. "I will get ahold of Sheska, unless you want to?" Seeing how the idea flustered him, Ed wondered if Al was interested in the girl. He had already begun to think so, but catching the blush that colored his cheeks currently, that thought was now confirmed.

"That's okay, you go ahead since you're both girls and all." Muffling his mouth with his gloved hand, he snickered quietly until Al's embarrassed eyes met his in a sort of challenge as he spoke his next words. "I'm so excited tomorrow will be so much fun, right Ed?" The look of knowing his little brother gave him as he asked made him wonder just when the hell had he gotten to be so cocky?

"Oh no, I'm not coming with you hoodlums." Taking out his wallet, he laid money on the table since he had already won the argument over paying with both the stubborn Rockbell and Alphonse. Preparing to leave, Ed didn't want to be put on the spot about a situation he shouldn't put himself in.

"Give us a break, you are barely older than us." She reminded him curtly.

"Even still, I will be at home grading papers, you know being responsible." Glancing into the ocean depths in front of him, he noticed that her expression deflated some at his refusal, but he tried not to think about it overlong. Pushing himself away from the table, he stood and they began to follow him as he made his way out the restaurant. He couldn't believe how much better his leg felt while doing so either, anytime he had risen or sat previously, it was like he was one hundred years old and he hadn't moved in half of that time. She really was an incredible mechanic. Once they exited onto the street, he thanked her again for the incredible work and long hours she had put in, while she thanked him for dinner, though in a more subdued tone than she had spoken in just a brief time ago. Telling Al that she would get ahold of him tomorrow to finalize their plans, she told them both goodnight and headed off in the direction of her home. For a moment, he wondered if they should have offered to walk with her, but he already knew that he had been around her too much as it was. After watching her walk away until he could no more see him, his brother turned to him and begun the argument he had expected.

"You are terrible! A night out once in a while isn't being irresponsible, if anyone needs one, it's certainly you! Please come with us Ed, it will be fun." Pleading almost like a child does for a toy in the grocery store, Alphonse stared at him hopefully.

"Al, you guys will have more fun without me dragging you down, I have stuff to get done anyways." Edward tried, attempting to pacify him.

"Fine. I just wanted a chance to talk to Sheska a little bit more, one on one in an adult setting." Great, now he was playing a guilt trip, and even though he knew this, he still had trouble outright agreeing just on principle. "It's okay though, Winry will probably have a lot of people who are interested in talking to her, so maybe I'll still have a chance to spend some time with her." Giving Ed a look that plainly read the discomfort that that statement would bring, Al began heading towards their place with a smug satisfaction that he would crumble, anytime now. He wanted to say the thought didn't bother him, he wanted to ignore the outright reality of his brother's words, but he couldn't. Unfortunately for him, Alphonse, being too damn perceptive for his own good, knew that as well and was going to use that to his advantage. Sighing loudly, he had a feeling he would regret his decision one way or another later.

"Fine." Mimicking Al's terse answer, Ed just hoped that everything would be that very word.

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**AN: Hope you guys liked the chapter, I'm not crazy about it, but once again have been sick. I don't know what is up with my immunity recently, if I'm lucky the fact that I was on prescription cough syrup the last half of the week won't show too much. Thank you guys for reading and reviewing!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: So everybody, as I mentioned in the last chapter, this one will be much longer than the previous, but I hope you will all like it. Huge thanks to; Le Confidant, ZilSepam, Sokkasm, ****MemoriesOfVoxei****, Mikigotagun, ****xIcyChanx****, ****RockingCass12****, ****Soprana****, ****TheMistOfThePast****, clara, steel-trap and the guest who reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: No rights to FMA.**

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As Edward and Alphonse got into the wheelchair accessible cab that they had requested, Ed found himself already regretting his agreement to go out with the group to some noisy bar, however his brother had picked the location because of the allowance of anyone 18 and up on nights when bands played. Early Bird's was a popular Central hang out, which instantly made him steer clear by nature, but Al's excitement was palpable and nearly catching. He had talked to Sheska and Winry earlier in the day, they were going to get around together and meet him there. Neither of the girl's knew that the elder Elric was coming, and he couldn't believe he had let Al egg him into going. Even worse, was how easy it had been to sway his refusal into acceptance.

Seeing how happy Alphonse had been while on the phone with the small brunette, he knew that he would've faced far more awkward situations with the Rockbell to see that excitement again. Since everything had happened, girl's who had been previously enamored with the golden siblings, were much more likely to ignore them, then to get to know them. While Edward didn't have a problem with such a reaction anymore, he also knew that he had it far easier than his tender hearted brother. Finally Al had become interested in a woman who seemed to be genuine, kind and have a love for books that might actually be more intense than his own. The only issue was that years of dismissal from 'the fairer sex' had made him quite shy about his intentions, and so he needed the support of Ed now to make a real attempt. Ed on the other hand had just dawned a chest plate of indifference and sarcasm, covered by arrogant words which had worked pretty well until recently.

Pulling up to the already packed club like establishment, he sighed loudly at the idea of being stuck with all of these people, then he began to anguish even more that soon they would all be inebriated to boot. Approaching the entrance, he became irritated over the cover charge, but tried to shove aside his foul temper for Al's sake, as he handed money to the bouncer. Inside, he realized that the building was much bigger than the outside had let on, reading his mind, Al explained that there were three separate parts to the club. The first that they were in was a giant wrap around bar, with a large stage in the front and lights flashing brightly throughout the darkened room. The second room that it opened into led to a room full of billiards and a dance floor with a DJ. From there, the space sprawled into an outdoor lounge with fiery glass surrounded torches lighting the area. There was a rock wall that had a cascading water display, truly it was impressive. However his focus was torn away quickly as he noticed the two women that they had been looking for, standing in line at the bar that was near the rocks, talking to a group of men.

Instantly he felt a tightening in his chest at the sight of Winry in a mid thigh length, scarlet, cleavage baring, jaw dropping dress with a black ribbon tied in a bow just under her bustline, like she was a present. Lovely, toned, pale white legs tapered down into a pair of black heels. Instead of being pulled up in a ponytail, per the usual, her gorgeous silvery blonde hair cascaded all around her, but for two strands that she had carefully woven into the long fall. After a moment, Al cleared his throat, jarring him from the complete inventory he had just taken of her. When he looked to his brother, he felt a guilty blush cover his cheeks at the realization that he was no idiot, and had easily discerned his unwelcome interest in the woman. Choosing to make no comment, Alphonse simply smiled at him knowingly before heading towards the girls. He hadn't moved an inch as he noticed one of the men surrounding Winry must have said something funny, because she had tipped back her head in laughter, showcasing the beautiful curve of her neck. Swallowing thickly, he tried to pull himself together. She wasn't his girlfriend, hell she was hardly what he would consider a friend, so what right did he have to be filled with heated dislike for the curly headed fuck who was currently eyeing her figure while she was distracted? None.

When they saw Al, their attention to the other men broke and they both greeted him with hugs, though Sheska's lingered longer than Winry's, this was a good sign that the affection his brother felt could be reciprocated. Feeling like an idiot just watching them from where he stood frozen in the billiard area, Ed was getting ready to get a drink from the bar where the band was setting up when he heard his name called excitedly. Turning his head back to the direction of the recognition, he saw his student nearly running towards him, wearing an expression of completely stunned elation.

"Ed!" As she wrapped him in her arms like she had with Al, all he could think was, 'Holy shit, has she already been drinking?' because she had never greeted him with a hug before. He was in no way prepared for her closeness, of course she had worked at a near proximity to him while fitting his automail, but that was a vastly different and expected action. This was, wholly incomparable; her slender arms were enveloped around his neck, her hair caressing his cheek, and her breasts were pressed snugly against his chest, all while he was breathing in the scent of her enticingly floral, yet mildly metallic smell. Without even noticing it, he had returned the contact. His natural hand, though gloved, could feel the warmth of her bared skin and it was making him dizzy, despite the innocence of the gesture. Flushing at the feelings it roused, he began to wonder if he could take much more without embarrassing himself somehow, but luckily, and unluckily, she eased away and continued talking. "What a surprise! I thought you said you were staying at home being responsible tonight?" Since Al and Sheska were still a distance away, he responded conspiratorially.

"Well, if we can get those two to admit their feelings tonight, someone needed to keep you company so they could have some time alone." Nodding towards the couple who were still wrapped up in their own world, Ed continued. "Do you think she likes him too?" Asking seriously, he hoped that she would confide in him.

"Oh, I think so. While we were getting around, Sheska was so intent on looking nice for him, that she must have changed clothes a million times. I feel bad for the mess she will go back home to, her room looked like a graveyard for shirts, skirts and dresses." Chuckling at the vision that he could easily picture given what he knew of the brunette, Ed was happy to hear that for a change, just as he had suspected, Al's feelings weren't one sided.

The loud strumming of a guitar caught his attention, and he noticed that the band was getting warmed up. Calling to his brother and the object of his affection, they both blushed as they seemed to realize that they had completely forgotten the presence of Winry and Ed. Once they were all together, Al suggested that they get a spot in the main room so they could watch the entertainment. Once they located an open table, Sheska surprised him by taking a seat next to Al. He would've thought she would shyly sit next to Winry, but smirked at the erroneous gesture that proved otherwise. However, now that he thought about it, that would leave him sitting close to Winry instead, but before they could even take their seats, she suggested that they go get a drink. When she asked Al and Sheska what they wanted, they just replied that they would get something in a bit. Leaving her looking to him in question.

"Well Professor, let's have that drink you offered me a couple weeks ago." Catching the encouraging look on his brother's face before she grabbed his hand and began to drag him towards the bar, he wondered again how much she had drank to be so touchy with him, but also reminded himself that she was like this with Al as well. That thought made him feel mildly better and worse. When they reached the thankfully short line, she released his hand almost reluctantly, which made him even more curious as to her actions.

"So Ms. Rockbell, how much have you had to drink tonight?" Without meaning to, his voice had sounded a bit reproving.

"Well _Sir_, I had one vodka and orange juice." Being called 'sir' he guessed that she had noted the inflection in his words as well. Either way, he felt a bit relieved when he heard her answer. She stared blankly at him, and then without warning, her eyes traveled down him openly, leaving him shocked. "Hey, did you notice that we kind of match?" Humor lit her face at the awareness, and he too looked down at his clothes then, and realized that she was right. He had worn his black leather pants, after remembering her initial reaction to them, and black button down shirt dressed up with a red vest and tie nearly the same hue of her dress. Laughing lightly, he acknowledged her claim.

"Huh, you're right." Then turning to their companions, he saw that they had inadvertently done the same thing. "Actually so do Al and Sheska. So what would you like to drink?" He asked casually changing the subject from the coincidence.

"Oh, you don't need to buy it for me-" Quickly, he cut her off, not even allowing her to start spouting that girl refusal crap.

"I did offer before, and so I will be making good on that now. What would you like? I suggest if you started with vodka, that you keep drinking vodka though. I don't want to have to carry you out or hold you hair back later." Stating smugly, he just knew that would ruffle her pride and waited for her to prove him right.

"You ass! Just to let you know, Rockbell women have been known for the ability to hold their liquor, so I wouldn't judge a book by it's cover." The disclaimer made him tense, but she continued in a challenging tone distracting him from thinking overlong on it. "I'll take whatever you are having." Moving forward, he gave the bartender their order as a folksy and yet alternative rock sounding guitar melody began playing, accompanied by a man's low, airy voice, instantly capturing the rapt focus of the bar. Moments later, a piano and a violin joined melancholically. Though from what he heard, he liked the band, he was surprised it was playing at this venue since it was a Saturday. Then again seeing how many people were singing with them, maybe his assumptions about the crowd were incorrect. Giving a card to the woman for a tab, he took the drinks and passed one to Winry and they made their way back to the table where Al and Sheska were silently watching the band.

People had begun to leave their tables to stand and dance in front of the group, leaving many seats unoccupied. Turning to Winry, he asked what she thought of his chosen drink. With cheeks slightly pink from the warmth of the drink, she told him that the whiskey was smooth. He had tried many types of alcohol and still found the brown liquid to be his favorite, though from the few times he had had more than he should've, he could also say that it could cause a nasty hangover. Talking over the sound of the music, Winry wondered if he liked the band, however before he could answer, the curly haired man from earlier approached their table and asked her to dance. Being unable to stop the frown that crossed his face, the man backtracked, and then spoke to him.

"Oh, is she your date?" Mild alarm colored the dark haired man's tone, at the idea that he might have just asked an attached girl to dance. What could he say? She wasn't his date, and he hadn't asked her himself.

"No, she's not." Responding in flat, nearly growled answer, Al met his eyes upon hearing the irritation in his voice.

"Wheh, didn't want to step on anyone's toes by asking this lovely lady to dance. So what do you say?" Completely ignoring his presence now, the interloper directed his question at Winry, who looked at him while nibbling her lower lip in consideration. When his golden eyes seemed to give no objection, she took a sip from her glass and stood.

"Sure. Sounds fun. Sheska you should come dance too." That got the attention of the younger Elric, who didn't seem too happy about the arrival of the guy either now.

"Um...okay, though I'm not very good." Nervously, the petite girl replied.

"Ha! You haven't seen me dance yet." Winry joked, as she looped her arm in the crook of Sheska's and the three of them headed to the floor.

"Brother, I know you are upset. If you like her-" Stopping that statement dead in it's tracks, Edward spoke over Al's words.

"I don't like her." For once, he was thankful it was noisy so that no one would hear his forceful denial.

"Ed, I can tell you are jealous." His sibling eyed him disbelievingly.

"I am not jealous. She is just my student and engineer. Nothing more. If she wants to dance with some goofy guy, that is her choice." Firmly negating the claim, he took a long drink of his whiskey, as if that was somehow the end the discussion on this topic.

"Fine. Even if you can't admit it to me or yourself, I wish you would stop feeling guilty for everything and allow yourself to be happy, before it slips through your fingers." Without being able to stop it, Al's plea had pierced his careful facade of indifference and was instigating thoughts that he had already been trying hard to ignore.

Nearly everyone was gathered in front of the band now, and while the three of them had made it a bit closer, they were still within eyesight. How Winry was able to move so lithely while wearing those heels was beyond him, but she had certainly played her rhythmically talented skills down. She wasn't just capturing the attention of the man in front of her, many men were staring openly at her. At one point she had turned to motion for him to join them, but he gestured to Al, wordlessly conveying that he wasn't going to just leave him alone, even though his brother had told him he would be fine. After a few songs, Sheska had returned to the table and asked if anyone else would like a shot since she was already getting one for her and Winry. Though his brother was underage, it was only for a few more weeks so he wasn't going to give him crap over one shot as long as he wasn't caught, and given the amount of people here, he sincerely doubted that would happen. Both of them agreed to one as well, but Ed cut her off as she reached for her bag, and went up to buy them instead.

Placing his order, he glanced back to where the blonde was dancing, but quickly faced the bar again when her searching eyes met his. He was stunned at how innately attractive she was, without even noticing, and he wanted to push Al's words out of his mind. He wanted to ignore the call he felt towards her, and to go back to his wooden routine before her disruptive advent into his life. It was strange how in just a few weeks, she had managed so effectively to become such an active part of his daily thoughts. Picking up the tray that held the small glasses, he carried them back to their group to find that she had also returned. Giving him a charming smile, she thanked him as he passed her one of the tart shots and a lemon. Typically he didn't drink vodka, but he tried to pick something that everyone would probably like. They all clinked glasses, and he laughed as he saw her bite the lemon before taking the shot. Catching that everyone else had bitten theirs after they drank, she smirked back at him as if reading immediately from the sound of his humor, her clear inexperience.

For a while they all just sat and talked together, until it was obvious that the pair across from them were having a totally separate conversation and that that was their cue to entertain themselves.

"Hey, do you want to go play some pool?" He suggested the idea since they would be able to give the pair the space they needed and still be close enough to see any development.

"Sure, but you are going to have to teach me how to play." Laughing at her admission at never playing before, Ed was beginning to wonder if she had any hobbies outside of working on automail.

"As if I don't have teach you enough days out of the week already, why not toss the weekend in there too?" Teasing her lightly, he stood up and waited for her to grab her probably now watered down drink.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny Professor wise ass, let's go." Grinning toothily at her statement, he led her over to the billiard area, then took some change from his pocket and deposited it into the coin slots. Walking around to the front of the table, he picked up the balls and racked them carefully. "Okay, so what do I do?" Seeing that she had picked a cue stick that was far too short for her, he shook his head in mock disapproval.

"Well first you want pick a stick that is the right size for you." Taking the smaller stick from her, he realized double entendre he had just used unthinkingly, and passed her one that would be more suitable for her.

"Oh, and is bigger better?" She quirked an eyebrow at him, and he caught a challenging glint in her eyes as she asked the question with an equally provocative dual meaning. Not being able to stop the risque response from passing his lips, he returned the question with another.

"When isn't it generally?" Giving her a crooked and lecherous smile, he noted the slight tint of pink that stained her cheeks. "Then you need to make sure you are holding it in the right places." Placing his hands gently on hers, he guided them to the correct positions and was caught off guard by the flop of his stomach in reaction to the simple touch. Lifting his own hands, he cleared his throat roughly and continued. "Good. I'll break and then explain to you what happens from there." Trying to calm his nerves, he exhaled before taking the shot so he wouldn't scratch in front of her like an inexperienced dolt. Hearing the crack of the cue ball into the racked balls, he sighed in relief that he hadn't missed. In fact, he had sunk two solids. "Alright, you'll notice that each of the balls has different markings. Some are one solid color, and some have stripes, also there is one black ball. The goal is to get as many of your balls in without sinking the black one until all the rest are gone." Nodding her head in understanding, he resumed his explanation. "Now, because when I broke I sunk two solid colored balls, those are going to be the ones I try to make in, yours are the striped ones. You shoot until you miss in this game, though as you get better, you may someday start calling the pocket that you plan to make the ball into. For now though, we will just play 'slop' which is just dropping your balls into any pocket that you can. I'm going to take my next shot, and I want you to watch carefully how I place my hands on the cue stick, compared to your own. When it's your turn, I will teach you to aim." Not really taking the time to line anything up, he was mainly just trying to show her good form and follow through. When the ball he hit stopped bouncing off the railing, he took a step back.

"Looks like you could use some lessons yourself." Running her fingers through the blond strands as she joked with him, he was momentarily distracted by the light from above the table circling her head almost like a halo.

"No sassing the instructor." Replying in a quick rush of words, he tried to turn his focus away from the stunning woman in front of him.

"Sassing? Really, who says sassing these days? My Granny wouldn't even say that!" He grabbed his glass from the ledge that ran along the wall, and drank deeply, then frowned at how diluted his own whiskey had become.

"Me, and unless you would just like to attempt this on your own, I suggest you quit harassing the person who is willing to help you, gearhead." Her ocean eyes became stormy when she heard the little 'endearment' he had bestowed her with.

"Gearhead, huh? Well just remember that you need this gearhead for your next maintenance, Elric." Without further conversation, she picked a ball and attempted to copy his previous movements, though was a little off.

"Okay, the way your hand is placed here is alright, but this one should be further back. Wrap your hand around the taped part." Pointing to where she should hold it, he avoided contact with her this time, unsure of how his body would react to repeat exposure. "Perfect, now I want you to lean like you are going to take the shot." Stepping back to watch, his gaze drifted to her long legs, as they stretched forward and her dress rode up her thighs some. "Your stick should always stay level with your hips, and when you do take a shot, remember that even after you have hit the ball, to follow through with your stroke. Without hitting anything I want you to take a practice shot." Leaning across the felt, she let the stick glide over the bridge she had made with her fingers steadily.

"That wasn't half bad, Ms. Rockbell." Earning a glare from her for not using her first name, his lips turned up at how easy it was to ruffle her. "Now, the first thing that is important when lining up your shot is that when you aim, you want to aim based on where the ball you want to go in needs to be tapped by the cue ball, this white ball, in order to hit the middle of the pocket. So if you are familiar with geometry and that's easier, you can calculate where to hit based on the angles. Really, that's pretty much it, now it's up to you to make the shot." A determined expression lit her face, and she walked around the table to see where she needed to hit the striped ball, with the cue ball. Placing her hands carefully on the stick, her brows puckered as she concentrated and then set up her shot, sinking the ball successfully. Jumping up excitedly, she turned to him then with a look of complete shock.

"Ed, I made it!" Hugging him unexpectedly, he was once again assaulted with how the sense of her closeness made his body tighten in response. Releasing him, she prepared to take her next shot, hovering precariously over the table in her low cut dress, but still dropping it in the pocket as well. Nearly squealing in delight, she spoke then. "You might want to consider teaching pool for a living instead." Rolling his amber eyes at her, he actually reconsidered her idea when she once again tapped her ball in.

"Damn, you want to at least give me another chance to shoot?" Stating in false irritation, Edward leaned back against the ledge where the last of his drink was, and finished it.

"Actually no, it would make me happier to beat you my first time. But we could put a bet on this game if you would like." He should have guessed that she would be the type of girl to make wagers, but he did wonder what her prize would be.

"Only if I get to bet in your favor now." Ed joked, though really if she kept up her current momentum, maybe he wouldn't be. Seeing her frown at his answer, he conceded to inquire what she would win. "Fine, what are the terms of your bet?"

"If I win, you have to come dance with me. If you win...I don't know. What do you want if you win?" If he were honest with himself, he wouldn't mind dancing with her, but he couldn't very well ask for the same thing as her, and he knew it was a bad idea as much as it seemed the opposite right now.

"How about if I win, you have to buy me a drink." As she swaggered to the other side of the table to take her shot, he could tell she was in a hurry as she missed her own ball, but sunk one of his, causing her to cast an angry look at the inanimate object. Even with this setback, she still agreed to the bet.

"Deal." Extending her hand to him, he took it lightly in his automail one and shook once. "Your shot Professor Elric." He wondered if this woman cowed to any person, or if she was always this confident. Was she as nervous around him as he felt with her? If she was, he couldn't tell. In quick succession, he sunk his four remaining balls, leaving her astounded. Now all he had to do was drop the eight ball in.

"Who's not going to give who another chance to shoot now?" Winry sputtered incredulously.

"Well I'm very motivated, since I'm not much of a dancer." Remarking blandly as he chalked the tip of his stick.

"Pfft, neither am I, but I still get out and do it because it's fun." Well that was the first lie he had ever heard come out of her mouth, and he called her on it.

"Could've fooled me, you sure seem like you can move just fine." Remembering the seductive way she had swayed her hips with the music a while ago, he felt heat rise on his cheeks openly.

"Sounds like you were checking me out." She reproached levelly, though not appearing displeased in the slightest.

"Hardly! You just said you weren't good and I didn't want to miss an opportunity to tease you later." Hastily trying to cover his tracks, Edward knew he hadn't sounded remotely convincing.

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night." Clearly since this was the last ball, she was trying to goad him into losing focus, but he wasn't about to fall to her tactics. Taking his time to line up the shot that should be easier to make than it felt, he called his pocket and decisively hit the cue ball. When he saw the black ball drop, he was instantly sorry he had made it because he had now lost the opportunity to dance with her himself, even though it was better in the long run.

"Looks like I owe you a drink, Professor." He was surprised how much he disliked her calling him that, since that was exactly what he was to her. Telling him that she wanted to check out the large patio bar, they headed through the pillars of fire to the extremely crowded line to wait to place their order. The music outside was much more what he had initially expected from the club. Loud bass tones beat so hard, that he could feel the pulse of the song in his whole body. Lights flashed wildly and smoke clouded the area despite having no walls. People crowded around them, both dancing and standing in groups talking. To be able to hear one another they had to stand close and speak in each other's ears. She leaned in to ask if he wanted his usual, and her hair which was slightly static from the atmosphere, tickled his neck and ear sensitively, making the hair on his arms stand in response. Suppressing a small shudder at the feel of her warm breath, he was acutely aware of her proximity.

Tipping his head down to answer her, he was startled when she turned minutely, causing his lips to brush her earlobe accidentally. They both looked at each other with eyes wide and faces red in embarrassment. He was momentarily stupefied at how she looked when the multicolored lights lit her face, dancing across her shiny lips. Had he ever seen a woman so beautiful before? When the line moved a fraction, they did too. She had turned forward when they did, and now he was standing hardly six inches behind her, with a perfect view of the smooth arch of her back that was exposed to him. Winry's hair shimmered down her shoulder blades, and indulging on an impulse, he leaned forward and breathed in that sweet scent he had noticed earlier when she hugged him. When she moved to face him again, they were so close that he swore she would be able to hear his heart thudding over the blaring sound of the music.

A group of people shifted behind her, forcing her forward into him. As the men and women tried to cut through the bottleneck, he pulled her into his chest to keep her from being hit by the other women's bags. Looking down at her, he saw himself reflected in her sapphire depths, but that wasn't all he glimpsed; Winry stared up at him, her lips parted with an expression that he was stunned to recognize as longing. Her eyes dropped from his golden gaze, to fix on his own lips and he knew he had clearly discerned her want to be kissed, because he clearly felt his own to do so. For another heartbeat, she stood there in his arms as the last of the group walked passed them. Then he put his hands on her arms, loathe to stop touching her, though compelled to cease just as fervently, and eased her away from him. Dropping his hands stiffly to his sides, he concentrated on the floor until he was finally collected enough to meet her eyes. Deep blue searching honey, narrowing in confusion when they found no answers there. She reached out to touch his arm and he back stepped out of her reach, leaving a look of rejected disappointment at the opportunity lost. No matter how something internally raged inside him to take those lips in a hot kiss, his conscience protested loudly that this wasn't right.

Plastering a scowl on his face, he knew it was better to put a stop to this situation before it had a chance to blossom within him and prick her as well. Roughly he gritted the sentence that would surely leave her hating him. "Winry, you are my student, and even if you weren't, that wouldn't change the fact that I feel nothing towards you." He could hear the lie clearly as he spoke it, but he hoped that she wouldn't second guess his words from the off note in his tone. Instead of any other reaction he would have expected, she leaned in close to his ear, nearly touching her cheek to his neck, and spoke unfalteringly.

"You just tell yourself that, _**Professor**_." As she moved away from him, he caught the dangerous glimmer in her eyes that appeared as dark as the night sky, before she turned on her heel and the crowd parted around her like a warm knife to butter, allowing her passage through.

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**AN: Alright guys, let me know what you think of this chapter and Ed and Winry's reactions to each other. What did you like and/or hate about it?** **And what do you think will happen now? Can't wait to hear your opinions!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: I just want to say how blown away I was by all of the reviews that people took the time to leave on the last chapter, you guys have been great giving me feedback! As usual I am open to any reviews, if you notice something that is off or that you do or don't like, please continue to let me know! HUGE THANKS TO; Le Confidant, ****ZilSepam****, ****lovelylunalight****, ****Mikigotagun****, ****MemoriesOfVoxei****, ****Sokkasm****, ****Soprana****, ****evilpika****, ****erico637****, ****RockingCass12****, ****midnightstardust****, ****Seagirl Neptuna****, ****xIcyChanx****, BMW, TGM (which I think was The Girl of the Moon) and guest for reviewing! Remember that time that I said was the hardest time I had had writing a chapter, well, that was a lie and now this one takes the cake. **

**Just a heads up; the next chapter will be out on Halloween.**

**Disclaimer: No rights to FMA.**

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Sitting off to the side of the end zone, hearing the roar of the excited crowd all around her, Winry couldn't help but be pulled into the moment of celebration, cheering right along with all the other spectators. Finding herself smiling widely to Michael, who was being congratulated by his teammates and coaches, Winry, who had never been to any sporting event, had actually enjoyed herself once she caught on to the finer points of the aggressive pastime. She had come to the game tonight mostly because she had been tired of allowing her mood to become so surly recently; she was a Rockbell, and Rockbell's weren't cowed by anyone's opinion of them, even if said opinion was distributed by a handsome jerk. Even if said handsome jerk was no more than two feet from her, scowling at the man approaching her in football gear who had just scored the winning touchdown by running it in himself. Feeling Sheska elbow her forward in encouragement to talk to the ruby eyed quarterback, she reached back for the scarf that she had let her professor hold earlier, to find Edward wearing an expression that she could only describe as poorly disguised dejection, directed at her. Brushing off the look she had just seen on his face, she carefully climbed down the single step from her position on the metal risers to speak with Michael.

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Almost two weeks of classes and work had sped by without Winry speaking more than necessary to Professor Elric, which was almost not at all since he seemed to be doing the same. They had fallen neatly into a pattern of ignoring the other. Though once or twice when he had thought she wasn't paying attention, she would catch him staring at her through the curtain of hair that she generally wore down now as a wall of sorts to the man. She had done her best to put that night out of her mind, but it was hard to truly not think about him when he stood in front of her five days a week, as he did currently; a bitter reminder to what an ass she had made of herself. Still, as days had passed she just couldn't believe that she had misread his actions towards her at Early Birds. Either way, she wouldn't soon forget his scathing words of dismissal to her.

Adopting an attitude of aloofness about the whole situation, she had chosen to not let anyone know of the feelings that had foolishly shown themselves; the one noticeable change being her sudden compulsion to be consistently busy enough not to think. The only person she had told about the outcome of that evening was Sheska, and though she had done her best to play up how 'fine' she was with everything, she was sure that the clever brunette wasn't fooled. Especially once she had confided in her about Al's concern over his brother's irritable and withdrawn state ever since their night out, which led to nothing but more questions. Winry had kept her face neutral when hearing this, not wanting to make her curiosity obvious.

Initially, Winry had assumed the fact that he was her teacher was the main reason for his disinterest, though she knew of other educators who had dated, and in some cases even married their students. So that had logically left the option that he really did not want anything to do with her, which was far more abrasive. However hearing Sheska's account of Edward's behavior led her to wonder if there was something else she wasn't seeing. If he 'didn't feel anything towards her' than why was he acting any different? Possibly just because he had the misfortune of seeing her everyday, with no means of escape short of her transferring, which she had no intentions of doing. The first day back in class she had considered this route, but then decided that the best action she could take was to be just as indifferent to him as he was to her.

Glancing at the clock, she noted that at least in another couple of minutes she would be able to leave the class and his presence, which was fine with her since he had been pacing in front of her desk while lecturing and she had caught a brief smack of his all too alluring scent when he stirred the air with his gestures. Unable to stop herself, she exhaled audibly, drawing the unwelcome notice of her teacher. His molten eyes met hers questioningly, but just then people started rising around her as class was finally over. Blushing at his unwavering stare, she dropped her own and quickly gathered her own materials. Before she was able to exit though, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder and she turned rigidly expecting an awkward conversation with Edward, only to be face to face with Michael. Standing straight and sturdy like a brick wall, he placed the arm that was touching her on the wall beside her. His hair had grown some and was unruly as it fell around his face.

"Hey Winry, I was just curious if you were working tomorrow night?" Picturing her schedule for a moment, she had been given the following evening off but was still hesitant to say as much. Did she want to spend time with Michael? Seeing that Professor Elric had remained in the room with them but was studiously ignoring them, she wondered why he was still there, since normally he was in as much of a rush to leave as the rest of them. Deciding that it couldn't hurt to at least get to know the wild eyed man, she told him that she was off the next night. "Well I was wondering if you would come to the game then and maybe after we could grab some food?" When her eyes reflexively flickered in the direction of her frustrating teacher, Michael's followed and then he spoke again. "That is, if you don't already have plans with someone else?" No. She didn't. He wasn't interested in her, so why was she having any second thoughts over it?

"No, not at all, I would love to come. I've never been to a football game before." Smiling brightly at him, she was rewarded with his own beaming happiness. For some reason he was much less intimidating when he smiled and it was easier to feel good about the decision to go.

"I'll see you after the game then?"

"Yes, see you then." Waving at him as he left, she started out the door when a loud cough pulled her attention back to the elder Elric. For an instant, a wordless conversation passed between them, not one bit of it remotely friendly, before she narrowed her eyes at him and walked out. What a jerk! He had no right to look at her like she was doing anything wrong, Michael was a far nicer guy than he was! To hell with him and his unspoken opinions!

Brooding over how the blonde was able to effect her without even speaking to her, she headed to work where she would hustle him from her mind. That night Al and Sheska, who had finally acknowledged their growing attraction to each other and were now dating, came in to see her at The Dark Horse. The two were both so comically inexperienced that she laughed every time she pictured them talking about going on their first real date. Not that she had had any of her own to speak of, but still it couldn't be as awkward as they made it look; Al was overly courteous and Sheska was consistently apologetic, they were a hoot. Interrupting their dance of politeness, she relayed the day's events and asked them to come to the game with her.

Without much prodding, she got them to accept though neither one of them were into sports spectating. They planned to meet at her work and go from there. Al warned her to dress warm since they would be outside for around four hours, to which she laughed at. Alphonse was like a mother hen if she ever saw one, despite her being older than him. When they left, she greeted Riza who was coming in to relieve her and smiled in response to her cheery hello. As of late, Riza had been in a good mood and Winry found out why about twenty minutes into their overlapping shifts; she had a boyfriend, though the word hardly applied to the dark haired and very handsome man. Riza asked her to take him a drink since she was busy setting a large group up, and she agreed while walking to the bar to pick up his glass. Approaching his table, she let him know that the other server would be there soon and was beginning to leave but he began a conversation with her.

After a few minutes of easy chatter and small talk, he had discovered that she worked on automail and had asked her many questions about her experience installing it. Apparently he was a senior probation officer and due to his late father's rank in the military, had many friends in various places, who could use an engineer specifically for injured and amputee soldiers. Excitedly, she told him that she was more than interested and gave him her contact information. Realizing that she hadn't introduced herself, she backtracked and extended her hand.

"I'm Winry Rockbell, it is so nice to meet you!" Black eyes crinkled as he smiled congenially at her.

"Roy Mustang."Taking her offered hand, he shook firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well." Her co-worker joined them then. "Hello Riza, I was just talking to Ms. Rockbell here about some automail opportunities that I think she would be perfect for." Nodding in response to the man, she turned to Winry to address her.

"Winry, I looked over your side work, everything looks good if you want to sit and discuss things further. I can get you something to eat or drink." She offered obligingly.

"Oh no! We were finished anyways, and besides I need to get headed home so I can finish some class work before I go to bed. Thank you again Mr. Mustang, I look forward to any information on the commission work, have a good night!" Being so happy about the potential for real work, she had nearly left without her purse. Returning to the bar to grab her forgotten bag, she waved and called out as she exited. "Night Riza! See you Saturday!"

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Friday had moved at a snail's pace, hours of lectures lengthened into what felt like days, probably from being anxious about the night ahead of her. When Winry was finally home, she rushed to get around for the game. Turning up her radio, she showered and took care with her hair and makeup while singing along with her favorite music, even dancing in front of the mirror as she did. Smiling at her own goofiness, she was resolved to have a good night. Spending so much time absorbed in home work, serving and tinkering justified her sudden need to get out and do something with her friends. Walking to her bedroom, she stood in front of her closet debating what to wear, which was mildly funny to her. She had never been one to care what anyone thought about her appearance one way or the other, but she did want to look nice for the probability that she would be going to dinner. Taking out her favorite pair of jeans and a comfy, warm, fall colored sweater, she dressed quickly after she realized that she needed to be at The Dark Horse soon. Slipping on some old, worn, knee high boots and grabbing a scarf, she was ready to go.

As she approached the bar, she sighed as she noticed that there were three people outside. Al must have invited Professor Elric, not having any idea that anything had transpired between the two of them he probably figured she wouldn't mind. When she got closer, her suspicions were confirmed when she caught the golden ponytail floating in the wind. Greeting the group, she tried to ask nicely what miracle had occurred to allow them to enjoy the pleasure of his company, but it may have come out a bit less jokingly than she had hoped for. Alphonse stepped in then and explained that none of them had even stopped to think about the cost of tickets to a home game against the university's rival. Apparently the event had been sold out for a year in advance, but luckily with Edward being a staff member, he was allowed tickets at a heavily discounted price. Grudgingly, she thanked him for coming out just to get them into a game he probably didn't want to be at, not meeting his gaze as she did so. Al let them know that they should start heading for the game, so the couple started off in front of them, leaving them to follow behind in silence.

When they entered the stadium, Winry was stunned by the sheer enormity that surrounded her. Hearing the sounds of trumpets and trombones warming up in the distance, she craned her neck trying to locate the origin of the brass section. There were so many people all around her speaking and cheering though the game still had another fifteen minutes before kick off. She could even make out what sounded like a drunken group of students singing the fight song.

"You know if you keep whipping your head around like that you are going to pull something and not be able to go on your date." Ed's condescending tone reached her ears, immediately irritating her. Seeing that Al and Sheska were a safe distance ahead of them, she hissed back at him.

"For someone who isn't interested in me at all, you sure keep pretty good tabs on what I am doing." Raising an accusatory brow at him, she just knew that would solicit an equally aggravating response.

"Hardly, you were the one who stood a few feet from me and let the whole thing play out. Who knows, maybe you convinced him to ask you ahead of time just to get my attention." Delivering the line smugly, Ed looked at her with a bored expression.

"You are an arrogant ass! I wouldn't waste my time trying to make you jealous, if you can't pull your head out then that is your problem not mine!" She was seething with anger that was nearly ready to boil over. Feeling it build by each passing second, she tried to reign in her barely tethered emotions for the sake of not wanting him to have the satisfaction he must be getting from her reactions. Looking around, she was also remembered that this was not the time or place to have a shouting match.

"Such language Ms. Rockbell, I was just giving you some friendly advice." Somehow he had managed to state his sentence with a straight face, making her want to mimic him when she spoke so he could see how ridiculous he was coming across even without yelling.

"Well since I'm clearly not your friend, why don't you just save those gems?" Punctuating her carefully spoken words, she gave him a sickly sweet smile. When she saw him biting back laughter, she was instantly sorry that she hadn't carried her wrench with her so she could beat him into blissful muteness. "Did you know that you are completely insufferable?" Sighing in defeat at the pointless conversation, Winry began speeding up her pace to put some distance between them.

"Could've fooled me the other night." Hearing his words, she abruptly stopped walking and turned to face him, letting every ounce of exactly how she felt about him right then show openly. Oh and did she have many feelings about the man in front of her, forgetting the most prominent ones, there were also some that she wished to bury within her and ignore completely. She stood toe to toe with him since she knew that made him uncomfortable, she began to speak, then stopped herself. Letting the moment of tense closeness linger between them, Winry wanted him to be as conflicted by her as she was with him. Finally when she did address him, she spoke softly to be sure she had his full attention.

"The only person fooling you is yourself." She was sure she glimpsed his self assured look slip right before Sheska's voice startled them both.

"Hey what are you guys doing? We were practically to our spots before we noticed that you guys weren't with us!" Blushing at the awkward exchange that her friend's arrival had interrupted, she chanced a glance at Edward, to see that he also wore an identical flush of color across his cheeks.

"Sorry Sheska, Professor Elric and I got caught up in our conversation and must have lost you guys! Where is Al?" Hoping that she had been able to mask her current mood successfully, she relaxed once the three of them began heading down the aisle to their seats.

"He is where the stands end by the end zone, you had some good tickets Ed." Actually Winry was sure that she could see the overhead lights glinting off of his wheelchair.

"I got them in case Alphonse ever wanted to come to a game." Stating flatly, he was obviously not in the mood for talking, which the brunette must have picked up on since she didn't continue trying to converse with him.

When they approached the seats, Al waved excitedly to the trio. Sheska sat all the way down on the end so she could easily spend time with her new boyfriend. Edward held a hand out motioning for her to go next to Sheska, and then he followed behind her. With five minutes until the game began, people started crowding around them into the stands, causing them to scoot closer to one another. A man climbing up the risers teetered and nearly spilled his drink on them, which just resulted in her Professor practically sitting on top of her. She could actually feel the heat of his thigh as it brushed against hers. How was it possible that even through both his pants and her jeans that she was still acutely aware of his muscled leg? Better situating herself between Ed and Sheska, Winry could easily perceive his body's tension in response to her small movement.

Al and Sheska had settled into their own little world, leaving the two of them stuck with each other's company. Since he didn't make any attempt at communication, she didn't either. Though it was chilly out just as Alphonse had said it would be, Winry found that the scarf was just enough to make her uncomfortable. Slipping out of it, she looked around for a good place to put it; preferably a place where it wouldn't get dirty from being trampled by people's feet. Seeing her searching, Ed held his hand out for her to pass the garment off. Eyeing him warily for any signs that he wouldn't keep it off of the foot area, she finally handed it over to him when she was satisfied that she could trust him with it. Tucking it safely in the crook of his arm, she wondered why he was being nice to her now? This man was utterly contradictory. How was she supposed to keep up with his ever changing moods? Had her earlier words actually made him consider his behavior towards her?

Blaring music filled the stadium as the marching band played the university's fight song and people began standing up all around her, yelling out the lyrics along with each other as the team took the field. As each player ran past, the crowd cheered loudly. When Michael ran by, being announced as 'Scar' everyone in the stands went nuts in response. Even she clapped her hands until she caught the elder Elric's eyes blazing hotly into hers with an indiscernible expression. Then as if realizing that he had given something away, he retreated back behind his wall of indifference.

Though she had never been interested in football, by the third quarter she had found herself shouting right along with the amped up mass of fans. In fairness it was hard not to and frankly how Edward managed to maintain his remoteness was beyond her. Sheska, had surprised them all by being the first to scream at the referee when he made a bad call. They had laughed at her reflexive attitude, Alphonse was especially enraptured by this new side of his girlfriend. With a straight face, her friend had tried to play it off on the many books she had read covering the rules and various plays of the sport, which had only cracked them up more. Eventually she tossed up her hands and admitted that she had watched more than her fair share of football with her grandpa before he passed away. At that disclosure she smiled contentedly as she saw Al reach over and take her hand, looking briefly to her left at Ed, she was pleased to note a similar grin touched his face.

In the last two minutes, their team was down by three points as they began their drive towards the end zone. Honestly, she had to acknowledge the respect she had gained for Michael while watching the past couple of hours. Even when it seemed like they weren't going to be able to come back from their initial setbacks, he had risen to the challenge and stayed calm for his team gradually evening the score. They were on their third down with only ten seconds left, and other school had good coverage on the wide receivers that were in the scoring territory, when Michael did something that guessing by the gasp Sheska expelled, wasn't typical. The quarterback had run the ball in himself for the winning touch down. Everyone in the stands had leapt to their feet in unison, and the roar that could be heard all around them was something Winry had never experienced the likes of ever before.

When the man of the hour began heading in her direction, she became aware of the many sets of eyes that fell on her in that moment. However the only pair that seemed to have any effect on her, were those of her bewildering Professor. Though he had made it clear on multiple occasions now just how uninterested he was in her, the only visible emotion she could read on his face was jealousy. For some reason that thought elated her more than it should have, and she realized she was now offering a goofy smirk that was already being misread as enthusiasm for the approaching man, when Sheska's bony elbow jabbed into her side and reminded her that she was supposed to be going to dinner with the athlete. Turning to take her scarf from Edward, her heart sped up when his gloved fingers seemed to purposely make contact with hers, until she caught the look he had attempted to conceal from her too late. She was already down the step and taking the proffered arm of the disheveled football star.

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**AN: Here's where I am leaving off. Expect the next chapter to be longer than usual as a lot will transpire! Thanks for reading and please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hey guys! Happy Halloween, hope everyone is having a good one and being safe! I wanted to release today of all days because it follows along with the content in the chapter, and also this would have been my Uncle Randy's birthday had he not passed in June this year. He always encouraged my writing and was supportive and the most amazing person ever. Huge thanks to; Le Confidant, The Girl of the Moon, Sokkasm, ZilSepam, fangirl2013, RockingCass12, midnightstardust, xIcyChanx, TheMistOfThePast, Soprana, Mikigotagun, steel-trap, YessCristopher, Seagirl Neptuna, FiendedVendetta and guests for your reviews! I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to PM anyone this chapter, there has been a lot going on. I appreciate every single opinion and encouragement so much!**

**Disclaimer: No rights to FMA.**

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Laying in bed, unable to sleep, Edward uselessly fluffed his pillow in an attempt to become comfortable enough to ignore his unhelpful inner monologue. This was beginning to be an every night pattern for the man since he realized that he **did** in fact have a less than innocent interest in his fiery student. Not that knowing that he had them would have changed the end result of his actions, but at least maybe he could have done _something_ differently. However now that he had admitted their existence to himself, he was unable to stop the multitude of scenarios that ran without cease in his mind starring Winry. Around three weeks ago, he had still been blissfully unaware of the exact measure of his feelings; he had known there was some attraction towards her, but what man could look at her and not feel drawn to her? He had also known that he liked her intelligence and ability to stand her ground, but he truly hadn't believed that there was anything passed that.

Unfortunately, in the days and then weeks following the game, the lie that he had been force feeding himself became apparent for the blatant joke it was. Winry had walked into his class hand in hand with the shaggy, white haired man, followed by his pack of idiot friends and just before he called everyone to attention, he saw the thing that had bitterly bitch slapped him into recognition. The powerfully built man had set her books on her table for her and then leaned down and pressed his lips to hers...and she had returned the kiss. In a moment, everything that he had told himself regarding this woman had just been undisputably tossed into disarray. Seeing her eyes flutter closed and the flattering shade of red that now touched her cheeks, he felt his stomach twist sharply in jealousy. His breathing accelerated, and for a second he had to steady himself against his desk. Why had he been so fucking stupid!? He couldn't even make himself stop staring at the couple, despite the fact that the sight was so unwelcome.

Why did it have to be her? Couldn't it have been anyone else? Even though he had made it clear that he wasn't interested in her, he was angry with her. He knew he had no right to be, that logically it was a good thing if she was moving on with this buffoon and that this was the exact situation he had pushed her into inadvertently with his rude dismissal, but couldn't she have taken a bit more time finding a boyfriend? Maybe a couple months, or years, or never? When the two had surfaced, her bright eyes had met his cautiously and he had felt his own blaze into hers just as steadily.

From that point on, he kept his distance from the bubbly woman. At Uni he would go through the motions, but try his best never to let his eyes rest overlong on her. If he happened to see her at the coffee shop, he would go about his business as if she wasn't there. At least from the way he was acting in his waking hours, there was no way that she would be able to tell that she was leaving him sleepless and frustrated. Some nights, he would just play out the times he had spent with her and imagine a different result. Others he would wake hard, and covered in sweat after dreaming that he had actually gotten to dance with her that night at Early Birds. Those were the worst because he could almost feel her shapely body fitted against his, rhythmically pressing herself to him, lips glittering in wait for contact. Those dreams left him strung up tighter than a bow and unable to sleep anymore. Which was what brought him to where he currently was; inserting himself into the open affection that she allowed Michael. He had pictured just how soft her lips felt as they moved across his, and the way she could make him crazy from an action so small as tugging her full lip between her teeth. Growling in annoyance, he ripped the pillow from under his head and wrapped it around his face and ears, wishing he could drown out the visions that his mind was producing to torture him. After a while of trying to recite the periodic table silently, he finally began to feel tired, but before sleep could claim him, the resounding thought of, 'Why did it have to be her?' echoed in the confines of his receding consciousness.

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Dating the university's star quarterback was kind of like having a gash on your leg and swimming with sharks; Winry had never been what anyone would consider popular, in fact she had been virtually invisible in high school considering the disconnect that she felt between herself and others her own age. As yet another unfamiliar smiling face waved at her, Winry tried to conceal the look of confusion and just acknowledge the friendliness of the man who was walking passed her. Truthfully she wasn't sure what to make of all of the attention she had been getting, generally she just tried to be friendly but still focused on the friends she had already made.

She had been seeing Michael for nearly a month now, and in that time she still felt like she barely knew more than just surface level information about him. Clearly he was a driven individual, and also very disciplined. Very rarely did he actually manage to allow himself to laugh or joke around, though he was certainly attractive when he did. What she had been able to gather about him was that he was the polar opposite of her. He wasn't affected by anyone's actions and she wondered what had led him to being attracted to her in the first place. Though he had been nothing but a gentleman on the now numerous dates that they had gone on, she was curious if he ever cut up and did anything unexpected. On many occasions she had found herself comparing Michael's stoic mannerisms to that of a mouthy golden haired man that seemed to frequently slip into her mind.

Professor Elric had hardly acknowledged her in weeks, appearing all but oblivious to her existence. However in rare moments when his hands would tightly grasp his desk, she wondered if he really was as unaware of her as he let on. Once or twice she had met his sunny eyes and found herself unable to look away, and then became irritated that he had any effect on her when she was dating Michael. She was supposed to be focused on him! The only thing that surprised her about the scarred man was that he was much more serious about her than she was about him. Winry wanted to take things slow, and get to know him better before she jumped into becoming his girlfriend, but he was already planning their future, whether he was completely serious or not. She was unsure of how to handle his thinly veiled comments about moving in together, which was NOT happening anytime soon. Apparently the way they went about things was vastly different, and she wasn't sure how to bridge that gap in the slightest, but she knew that if or when she did make that type of decision, it would be of her own choosing and not someone's insistence.

For now she was satisfied just spending time with Michael and seeing if he would begin to loosen up as time passed. Today she was heading out to find a Halloween costume for the party he had invited her to a couple days ago. He had wanted them to have a matching theme, but she didn't really like his suggestion of dressing up like firefighters. She had never been to a costume party and wanted to pick her own outfit. Being surrounded by the massive selection of daunting and skin baring choices, she found herself worried about the impression she might give by wearing something that revealing. Sighing loudly, she resigned to at least try a few of the garish firefighter get ups on. Grabbing what she considered to be the least provocative of the selection, she began heading to the dressing room when one dazzling burlesque style costume caught her eye. Unable to ignore the lovely bead work and perfectly cut lines, she debated it for a moment and then quickly snatched it up before anyone else could see it.

Slipping off her clothes, she began trying to take apart the mangled stack and smoothed out a very short and very low cut fire woman dress, though there was hardly enough there to call it that. Zipping it up in the front, she stared at herself in the mirror. If she moved a fraction one direction or the other, she was dangerously close to exposing her breasts completely. That wasn't going to work for her. Frowning, she unzipped the flaming garment and moved to the next.

This process continued through around six equally awful and similar outfits. Finally her eyes lit upon the brilliant golden colored burlesque costume and she put it on. The top was corseted, which should have deterred her, but the lace that adorned the top seemed the perfect width to cover and expose her shapely bust. There was a white ribbon bow resting between her breasts, and little white embellishments that trailed down the sides until they met with the gauzy material that dipped to her hip bones, where the material was also pulled up by little, white bows. The skirt of the outfit hung in scoops of different textured fabrics, that rested at her mid thigh in the front, though considerably lower in the back, which she was grateful for. When she faced her reflection, she couldn't believe the woman that stood before her, was her. Even the layering on the backside made her appear curvier. In her very limited opinion, it was alluring without crossing the line into smutty. Looking at it more closely, she noticed how the coin like color to it, she realized how it reminded her of Edward. Had she chosen it inadvertently with him in mind? Shaking her head to clear the thought, either way it didn't matter because now that she had put it on there was no way she was going to be able to settle with one of the silly firefighter costumes, and hopefully once Michael saw her in this he would agree.

She quickly dressed and made her way out of the changing rooms so she could check into shoes and stockings. Finding some above the knee sheer stockings, and tall heels, she decided she was all set. Now all she had to do was get through tomorrow at Uni and work and then Saturday she would get to enjoy celebrating with everyone.

* * *

When Michael and her arrived at the party, everyone seemed to immediately crowd around them, while passing them shots that were served in syringes. Some of the girls opened their mouths and let the guys shoot the liquid into their mouths, but Winry declined the offer from one of the frat guys and administered her own. There were so many people talking and laughing it was hard to focus on one conversation or another. Thankfully he wrapped a possessive arm around her and steadied her in the group that surrounded them. Though he had initially been disheartened that they didn't match, his gem like eyes told her that the costume she had chosen was still stunning. In fact many of the girls with them had already been complimenting her on it. She couldn't help but smile widely because so many of her classmates actually knew who she was and noticed her. This was a far cry from that experience and she couldn't decide if she liked all the attention or missed being anonymous, perhaps a bit of both.

There was beer, punch and other various drinks being served out of hollowed out pumpkins with dispensers stuck into them, which she had never seen before. Really whoever was hosting this party had really spent a lot of time in preparation for the event. The lights changed from normal white bulbs to those of orange, black and purple throughout the house. Along with strobe lights that were occasionally dispersed and the smoke that clouded the rooms, she couldn't help but enjoy the festive atmosphere that was all around her. Music was playing at different volumes in each room, out on the patio there was a DJ and people still in their costumes inside the pool. A man wearing only a cape and plain white underwear handed them each a vile of liquor, only to run away leaving her laughing. Michael led her to a table where they grabbed a couple of drinks and then walked to the dance area that had been taped off on the concrete. She was surprised, he didn't strike her as the dancing type really, so maybe he was going to finally start being less rigid around her. Taking a large drink from her mildly pumpkin spiced beverage, she was excited to realize that it was like a spiked cider; warm, spicy and sweet. Smiling in satisfaction, she looked up to her date who gave her an equally charming smile in return.

Moments like this, when he managed to drop the wall around him, he was dangerously attractive. His skin being tan made his straight, white teeth stand out. His deep red eyes were entrancing and though she had thought the idea of dressing as a firefighter was silly, now that she saw him with no shirt and gold suspenders, she had to admit that it was a bit more appealing. However, when she glimpsed the gold suspenders, the first thought she had had was of Edward and the way his honey hair looked against his own shirtless body that first time she worked on his automail. Just remembering the definition of his muscles was enough to make her own clench low in her stomach in response. Biting her lip and glancing away from Michael, she wished that she could stop thinking about her Professor all the time, but it was hard when things consistently reminded her of him.

Michael's hand slipped down her arm, regaining her wandering attention as he began to move in time to the beat of the music that she could've sworn had become much louder than it was minutes ago. After catching the rhythm as well, she swayed her hips in what she hoped was an attractive manner and guessing from the expression on his face, she had succeeded. They still danced a solid two feet away from each other until he seemed to get caught up in the music and forgot to keep his distance from her. At this point they were brushing against each other as they moved in the hazy fog that hung in the air. Winry turned to face him as they danced, which was a bit unnerving she realized as she gazed into his cool eyes. Her thoughts strayed again to Ed at this detail. Ed's eyes held warmth and a fiery temper, but Michael's were the exact opposite of that; almost a frosty winter despite the contrary color. Whatever she saw in his eyes, he must have seen something different in hers because a second later when his face dipped to hers and he pressed his lips to hers, she was completely unprepared for the assault he laid to her mouth. Besides the chaste kisses she had received from Michael recently, the one other time she had been kissed was when she was younger. As that had been at a coed party where spin the bottle was being played, it was very dissimilar in nature from the one she was experiencing now. His lips were rough against her own, and his arms had wrapped tightly around her waist as he pulled her into his chest, which radiated heat. From the sheer skill that the man kissed with, it was hard not to become sucked into the passion he was exhibiting for all to witness. Even with the mild buzz she was experiencing from the alcohol, her inhibitions hadn't dropped enough to block out the crowd. Though she wasn't opposed to some affection in public, she didn't necessarily wish to be having this encounter in front of all the curious onlookers that were around them. Sensing her hesitance, he pulled away and stared questioningly into her ocean eyes, before he seemed to mentally assess the situation and then release her, but for her hand which he tugged on as he began to walk back inside the house.

Shit! What if he thought she wanted to get more intimate because of her reaction? Already he wanted more than she was willing to give, so as he led her upstairs, she felt her heart thudding loudly in an anxious tempo. When they reached an empty room, he took a seat on the neatly made bed and patted the space next to him for her to sit. Maybe he just wanted to talk, she thought hopefully. Timidly, she sat on the furthermost edge of the bed, as if ready to spring at the first inclination that he wanted to take their physical relationship farther.

"Hey, I'm not going to pounce on you Winry, I just wanted to talk some without everyone watching and listening to every word we say." Feeling herself relax at his words, she turned towards him and scolded herself for thinking so little of him. What was wrong with her? An internal nagging voice whispered the answer that she didn't want to acknowledge, 'You want to be with someone else.' Shoving the unwelcome thought away quickly, she paid strict attention to the man in front of her. Seeing that she believed him, he continued speaking. "I've never been the type of man that is good at talking about what he wants or feels, but I think you should know where I stand." Watching him steadily, she waited for him to lay whatever was on his mind out. "When I first met you, I was instantly attracted to you. You have this strength within you that I can respect, but you are also kind and easygoing unlike myself."

"You are kind Michael." Winry didn't like that he almost sounded self deprecating the way he stated it.

"Not like you, Winry. As you may have noticed, I am a fairly reserved man, but when I'm with you I feel like being a bit less so, which is new to me. That being said, I would really like for us to become an exclusive couple and for you to consider living with me." She was stunned. Was he serious? He must have caught the look of complete shock on her face because he tried again. "I could take care of you, it can't be easy on your own especially not having any family left, which I understand better than most ever will." Inhaling sharply, she attempted to reign in her anger that threatened to rear it's ugly head. When she did speak, she spoke carefully.

"Michael, I do not need anyone to take care of me. I appreciate you trying to relate to my circumstances and am sorry for your own, but I am in no way ready to live with you. I can't even commit myself to more than I already have with you right now. Especially with my upcoming contract work, I will have strange hours that I would never dream of burdening someone else with." Mustang had called her earlier in the day to say that he wanted to give her contact information to his friend now that they were officially ready for a person in her field to come in, so if she thought she was busy before, she was about to be even more so in the approaching months. Apparently, he took something entirely different from what she just said.

"Are you interested in someone else?" The question might have been more surprising than the last few he had just asked, and her lack of immediate response seemed to confirm that fact for him. "I see."

"No! You don't understand, there isn't anyone else I'm seeing, but I'm just not at the same place you seem to be. You are a great person; you are handsome, you are talented and a gentleman to the core, but I just am not..." She trailed off not knowing what to say that wouldn't say like a cop out or a put down. "I'm just not ready for this right now. I'm sorry to have led you on at all Michael, this just isn't going to work out." Standing abruptly to make a hasty exit, she turned to leave when he spoke again.

"Well, good luck with your contract work, and whoever he is, I hope he realizes how lucky he is." Without another word Winry slipped out of the room and started down the hall for the stairs, when Michael's friend, Chad, stopped her in the stairway.

"Hey Rockbell, what are you doing up here all by yourself looking gorgeous?" The red head said, smelling heavily of whiskey, while raking his gaze up and down her body, sending a chill of unease through her.

"I was just leaving actually." Attempting to push past the bulky man, Winry was stopped when he raised his arm to bar her from the stairs.

"You can't! The party is just getting started, we are all having a good time. Stay here with me and have another drink." Holding the glass in front of her face, he tried to get her to take it from him unsuccessfully.

"No, I don't want anything. I just need to get going." As she moved to go under his arm, he lowered it and caught her in an awkward embrace, crushing her against his hold. Struggling, she pulled out of his grasp to see a look of enjoyment on his face to her reaction. Reaching for her again, Chad surprised her by tearing the front of her costume, leaving her silently stupefied for a second, giving him the opportunity to palm her breast and push her to the wall. Utterly enraged and fearful, she noticed how loosely he held the glass in his hand and decided to lean in as if to kiss him so she could grab the glass. Luckily the drunken fool played into it, and she took a firm grasp on the heavy tumbler, just as he began to slide his hand up the skirt of her costume. Smashing the glass against his head as hard as she could, she cringed at the loud sound of connection between his nose and the tumbler. Shards of glass and sticky liquid drenched them both as she made for the stairs. He had dropped like a sack of potatoes, but managed to shoot his hand out and trip her. Hearing the snap of her high heel on the wood floor as she tried to right herself, she fell down harshly onto her ankle.

"You fucking bitch! You broke my fucking nose!" She scuttled away from the sound of his furious voice, amazed that Michael hadn't been able to hear it from down the hall. Hobbling down the stairs, she made her way out of the front door with numerous people staring at her with wide eyes, though no offers were made to assist her.

Once she got about a block away, the dull throb in her ankle became worse either from continued weight on it, or it had been bad to begin with, but she hadn't noticed in her haste to get away from Chad. Assessing herself, she realized that she was covered in many cuts from the glass and was bleeding from that and her fall. Her pantyhose were torn and bloodied along with the corset that the lace now hung loosely from, covering far less than at the beginning of the night. How the HELL had things gone so badly in such a short period of time? Only when she noticed the glass embedded in her palms from her landing did she begin to cry miserably. Hugging herself protectively, she continued trying to walk before she became aware of the fact that she had been traveling on one heel and one heel-turned-flat the whole distance she had come. When this dawned on her, she started crying even harder. As she held herself, she felt something hard on the side of her corset top and remembered that she had brought her cell phone. Finally, she had been dealt a bit of luck. Resigning herself to sit and call someone, she plopped down on the curb and untucked the plastic savior from her top.

Really she only had a few options of people to call; there was Sheska who didn't have a cellphone and was with her nephew and niece for the night, and Alphonse who couldn't drive. Sighing heavily, she brooded over her waning luck. On top of all this, she had no idea where she was, just that she was in an upper scale neighborhood at the corner of an intersection. Staring at the lit up screen through once again blurring eyesight, she decided that she could at least call Alphonse and get a number for a cab as she pulled up the number to his line, which was one of two in the Elric household. Pushing the send button, she held her breath as she heard the call ring in her ear.

* * *

Edward was woken by the sound of loud ringing, grumbling to himself about how he'd told Al one hundred times to turn it on silent when he was gone, he made his way to his little brother's room. The phone had rung about three times by the time he entered Alphonse's tidy room, really isn't the unspoken rule not to call after 10:00PM? Having half a mind to pick up the call and tell the rude asshole the common knowledge that they should have respect for, he figured his sibling wouldn't appreciate him telling off any of his friends. Thinking of friends, he wondered for a minute just what friend would be calling him at almost midnight? Al had gone out with Sheska and her family for the night, so clearly it wouldn't be her calling for him. As the phone rang out one final obnoxious tone, he turned the sound up on the answering machine to see if the person would leave a message.

"Alphonse, hey...it's Winry." He stood completely still as he heard her voice come through the small box at him, she didn't sound quite right. "I'm just calling to see...I'm just..." There was a noticeable quaver in her voice, was she crying? "I just needed a number for a cab, but I-I'll be okay." Not being able to take the tears that were clearly laced in her words, he picked up the phone without speaking, but Winry noticed that she wasn't talking into a machine anymore from the intake of breath and began speaking rapidly. "Oh my gosh Al! I'm so glad you picked up! I j-just had this creep try and do- I-I don't even w-want to know what to me...and I'm pretty sure I hurt my ankle pretty badly." She sounded absolutely shaken, he needed to say something though.

"Winry. This is Edward. Where are you?" There was an audible pause as she took in the unexpected recipient to her call.

"ED!?" If he hadn't been so worried about her, he would have laughed at her response. "Um, I-I'm at a corner of an intersection, in Central."

"Okay, what intersection?" Trying not to sound like this should have been obvious, he spoke lightly to her.

"Cobblestone and Day." Thankfully he knew where that was, though it had been many years since he had been in that area.

"Winry, let me get your number from the caller ID and I will call you back and talk to you until I get there." Taking the cordless phone into the living room, he searched for the keys he had never used, finding them covered in a fine layer of dust on the wall hook that had been long forgotten.

"No! Ed, it's fine you can just give me a cab company's number and I'll find a ride home." Was she serious? Stubborn, pain in his...

"Winry, it's Halloween weekend, you would have to wait hours for a cab, I'm coming to get you and I'm not going to spend more time arguing about it. I will call you back once I get to my car and talk to you until I get there. Okay?" The silence stretched out as if she was weighing her chances of finding a cab still, but finally she agreed and he hung up the phone and retrieved her cell phone number, quickly programming it into his own. Rushing downstairs to the parking garage, he looked for the car he had never used and hoped that even though it hadn't been driven in the few years he'd owned it, that it would still start up normally. Unlocking the door, Ed sat on the leather seat noticing that the car still had that 'new' smell to it. Placing his phone in the center console, he turned the key and luckily it started. Remembering that he had given Mustang the spare set of keys, he mentally made a note to thank the man for keeping up the maintenance on his vehicle. He set up the hands free calling before he nervously pulled out and headed in her direction.

* * *

When he finally arrived on the street she would be on, he hung up their call and pulled up beside the small figure that was slumped on the curb. She had said she hurt ankle, so he parked the car and got out to see if she needed help, when he took in the sight before him. At first he was stilled by the fact that she was wearing the most sexy burlesque style costume he had ever seen. The gold and white garment hugged her lush curves and showed off the gorgeous legs he had seen the night they went out to Early Birds. However upon closer inspection, he saw that she had blood and some other stains covering her. Cuts littered her creamy skin and the lace on the corseted top was ripped lower than it should have been. There were tears where dainty, silken bows once held the fabric in place. He found himself staring open mouthed at her battered state and wondered why she hadn't mentioned how bad her condition was while they were on the phone. Though her makeup was still fairly intact, there were a few tracks that confirmed his suspicions that she had been crying. He felt his mouth go dry and his stomach flip at the thought that someone might have taken advantage of her. Instantly he was filled with a hot, coursing rage at whoever had hurt her. Crossing the distance between them, he carefully helped her up and then began turning her arms over to inspect every square inch of her.

"Who did this to you?" Speaking more roughly than he had meant to, he immediately felt bad when she flinched minutely. "I'm sorry, I am not going to hurt you, I just want to know who did this to you." Her wide sapphire eyes shone with fresh tears and he cursed himself for the ass he had come across as.

"It doesn't matter, you are here now. Can we please just leave Ed?" Some of his initial anger ebbed at the sound of her clear discomfort to staying any longer talking about everything. Nodding his head, he helped her up and slung her arm around his shoulder as took the majority of her weight for her. Making their way to his car, he opened the door for her and saw that she was shivering, whether from the horrors of the night or the cool air he wasn't sure, but either way after he got her in the car, he slipped off his jacket and tucked it snugly around her, to which she whispered a thank you. Entering the driver side of the car, he turned to glare at the party that was raging on a few houses down, guessing that that was where she had come from. As they headed back to his apartment, they both stayed quiet. He had decided not to push her to tell him what happened, but he would try and ask her again once he had gotten her cleaned up and bandaged. The roads were mostly empty of cars and for that he was grateful. When they arrived to his place, she seemed surprised about this turn of events, but didn't protest. After parking, he crossed to her side of the car and then lent her his shoulder again as they made their way to the elevator they used for Alphonse.

Reaching into his pocket, he dug out the keys to his apartment and unlocked the door. His blonde student seemed to look around with curiosity, but must have thought she was being rude so she firmly fixed her eyes on the floor as he moved her to the couch. Walking to the kitchen, he pulled down two mugs and packages for hot chocolate. Hopefully she liked it as much as he did, even knowing what was in the brew didn't deter him from happily sucking it down. Heating up their drinks, he waited for the little timer to go off as he walked down the hall to retrieve their first aid kit. Setting the supplies on the counter, he frowned as he noticed once again that she was covered in blood and liquid, he would make sure none of the cuts were deep enough to need stitches and then offer her a shower. Hearing the 'ding' from the microwave, he grabbed their mugs and took one to his unexpected guest, handing it to her carefully as it was quite full. She looked into the cup, then to him before blowing it off and then taking an appreciative drink. After a second, she smiled up at him, making some of the tense worry he felt to her state, ease minutely. Taking a seat on the couch by her, he asked if she would like some food to go with the hot chocolate, but she just shook her head. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, he had to at least try and find out what the hell had happened to her. Deciding to kill two birds with one stone, he walked to the table and picked up the small kit and brought it back to the couch.

Upon opening it, he was happy now that he had just recently bought a new one, because this was fully stocked. Setting the contents out on the coffee table in front of them, he took the coat from her, but promised he would get her a blanket after he was done. Moving close to her side, he began with the wet nap like cloths. He wiped down all the streaks of blood that were not coming from anything in particular, and was relieved to find that much of it must not be hers. The dark stickiness that covered her was apparently some mixed drink, she had offered that bit of information as he was surely making facial expressions that appeared curious. She had slipped off what remained of her heels and her stockings, as he turned to give her some privacy, though the stockings were fully visible to him. Reaching for peroxide and wipes, he cleaned the shallow cuts that covered her wrists and biceps, gently blowing on them as he went, which earned him another smile.

"So, can you tell me now what happened and who did this to you?" Watching the pucker form between her silvery eyebrows, he instantly felt like a prick for asking her, but maybe she wouldn't mind talking about it. For a moment, he didn't think she would tell him, then he saw her take a deep breath, and she looked at him steadily as she began to relate what had happened that night. Though he was still pissed at the red headed fuck who had done this to her, he had found himself proud that she had broken his nose, which must have been whose blood was also on her. Even though she had taken action against him, he couldn't wait for the day when he caught the cocky jock off campus, his fist was eager to meet his face. The whole thing was exactly what he had hoped to prevent from happening to her, even though he had screwed up everything with her. He wanted to be closer to her, but he shouldn't, he had let himself do that very thing, but then he had pushed her away only to realize just how much worse that was after the fact.

By the time she had finished explaining, he was finished picking the bits of glass from her palms, when she paused speaking to stare at him holding her hands. "Edward, I want to thank you for coming to get me tonight, and also for fixing me up right now." Winry's brilliant blue eyes sparkled at him, and he felt like the air had been knocked out of him when he tried to respond.

"Um, of course, it's not a problem at all. Besides, Al would never forgive me if I wouldn't have helped you." Smooth Elric, blame your infatuation and eagerness to help her on your brother. "If you want you can take a shower, or a bath and then I can bandage your cuts and wrap your ankle as well." A bath was probably the better choice considering taking a shower would probably aggravate her ankle further.

"That sounds pretty good right now actually, I'm tired from everything today." Even though she had been through so much today, she still looked better than any other woman ever had. He had had a hell of a time keeping his eyes from roaming her exposed skin while he administered the first aid. Clearing his throat roughly, he spoke.

"Reasonably so, I can lend you some of my sweats to sleep in too. You can have my room and I will sleep out here tonight." Knowing that his room was the closest to the bathroom if she needed it anytime that night, it only made sense that he should offer it to her.

"No! After how kind you have been to me, it is the least I can do to let you have your own bed tonight." Seeing the obstinate glint in her eyes, he smirked that she was able to muster any type of argument with him, then again she was challenging person he had ever met, so maybe it wasn't so strange.

"I'm fine Winry, I sleep on the couch or at my desk more often than not anyways, you will stay in my room and there is no point arguing about it. Do you think you can make it from the bathroom to the room across from it?" Deflecting anymore discussion on the matter, he simply asked a question to draw her mind away from putting him out at all.

"I'll be fine, if you leave me a wrap out of there I can do that when I get out of the bath, I'm fairly adept with that sort of thing." Of course she was, she was by far the most talented engineer he had met since Pinako, who had been knowledgeable in both mail and medicine. Grabbing the brown colored wrap from the white box, he passed it into her hands. Not moving hers, she took his in her own and squeezed them gently. When his honey eyes met hers, he could feel his pulse speed just at this simple gesture. She stood carefully on her ankle, using his hands to anchor her, then unexpectedly, she leaned down and pressed her lips softly to his cheek, causing them both to flush red. Whispering another thanks, she slipped down the hall, leaving him completely spellbound on the couch.

* * *

**AN: So, this was long and I'm beyond exhausted. I was trying to hard to get this to you guys on the day I said I would, so I promise that the next chapter will make up for this one. Thank you for taking the time to read and please let me know what you guys like and dislike! Happy Halloween everyone!**


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